


The Saints Beginning

by perfectlyme945



Category: Saints Row
Genre: Abuse, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-16
Updated: 2015-07-16
Packaged: 2018-04-09 14:18:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4352138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perfectlyme945/pseuds/perfectlyme945
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sorry everyone, but I have to put this one on hold for now. My muse ran away from me, and I can't seem to figure out where it went.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey. This is my first fanfic for Saints Row. I was hoping to get some feedback on how it is turning out. Next chapter should be up today or tomorrow. I know the first chapter is short, but I had to get some background info in.

“You stupid bitch. You’re just like your mother. You gonna become a crack whore like her to?” He screamed as he hit me. “If you’re gonna run around fucking everything on legs you can fuck me to.” He yelled pulling his pocket knife out, and started to cut off my clothes as I tried to get away. “What’s wrong you little whore? Am I not good enough for you?” He continued wrapping his hands around my throat. 

I started clawing at his hands trying to pull air into my lungs knowing it was going to be a futile. This had happened before when he was drinking, and every time I failed to stop him. As the edges of my vision started to fade to black I was almost thankful for this small mercy. 

Waking up the following morning was always disorienting, but this time it was worse. I went to roll out of the bed I was in only to find I couldn’t. My ankles and wrists were tied to the bed, so I was lying face down, naked and spread eagle. 

“Ah, good. You’re awake.” The man said from somewhere near the foot of the bed. I pulled at the ropes that held me hoping one they would be loose enough for me to break free, but had no luck. “You’ve been a very bad girl. You know what happens to bad little girls?” he asked and a moment later I heard something snap against his hand. “Bad girls need to be punished.” He said, and moments later I felt the object crack against my flesh. When the scream tried to leave my lips no sound came out. 

I quickly lost count of how many times the object cracked against my flesh, but I did know the lightheadedness I was beginning to feel was from loss of blood, as it was splattered on the bed around me. There was a pause in the strokes which almost made me hopeful that he would leave, but when I heard the sound of his belt buckle jingling I knew I had no such luck. Just when the rattling quit there was a knock on the door. 

“Don’t worry bitch, I’ll be right back.” He said and walked out of the room. “The fuck you want?” I heard him ask as he slammed the door into the wall.

“Stilwater PD. Put your hands up.” I heard someone yell, and I started pulling at my restraints again. The blood helped my hands to slide out of the restraints, and I grabbed pants and a hoodie out of his dresser along with his wallet before slipping out the bedroom window. 

I stayed hidden in the bushes beneath the window when I heard someone enter the room. “Shit, you may want to come take a look at this Chief.” One of the officers said, and a moment later he was looking out the window with a flashlight. “Stay right there and we’ll get you some help.” I heard him say, and I turned my head slightly to see the flashlight trained right on me. 

“Shit, what the hell happened in here?” I heard the Chief of police ask, and when the first officer turned to address him I took off through the back yard. 

“Fuck, we got a runner. Young female wearing jeans and a black hoodie, no shoes. Possibly heavily wounded. Headed north, northwest.” 

When I heard the call I decided to head down a couple houses before cutting through another backyard, where I switched direction and started to head south. It didn’t take long before I hit the bridge to Mission Beach. I stopped by an old pharmacy in town, and had my back treated by one of the people working there, and when I left I started thinking of where I would be able to stay. Looking around I saw the old church in the distance and started on my way toward it. 

Walking into the main door of the church I noticed it was quite run down, but no one was hanging around inside which I found odd considering the local homeless population. Looking around I saw a ledge up by one of the higher stained glass windows. I studied the position of the window for a moment before I noticed a support beam lead right over to it, and the wall that the beam ran into was missing just enough bricks to make it easy to scale. 

I wandered around the rest of the church taking note of the sighs of occupation scattered in the back rooms of the church before I returned to the main room and scaled the wall up to the main beam and then over the beam to the stained glass window. Once on the ledge I settled quickly into a deep slumber.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added one more paragraph at the end of this chapter to help make the transition easier. I'm hoping to have the next chapter up in the next few days, and I just want to apologize to everyone because my updates take so long.

I woke up the next morning to hear voices speaking in the church below. “Come on Julius we gotta take the row back if we’re going to get anywhere.” The black guy with a purple visor said, to the older black guy who was walking at the front. 

“What we need is more recruits, we ain’t gonna get anywhere without people to help us as we expand, Dex.” Julius, the older black guy, said. 

“How you expect to get new recruits if no one knows our name?” The blonde man with a goatee asked.

“Simple, we go out and make a fuckin’ name for ourselves.” The other man spoke up. He had black hair with ice white tips, and sunglasses that covered his eyes. His hair reminded me a bit of a honey badger. He was a bit on the muscular side, and had a tattoo that wrapped around both sides of his neck. 

“No, we go out and we watch. See who the other gangs are fuckin’ with and pull ‘em in.” Julius said to the other two men. I felt my nose start to twitch and quickly pinched it trying to keep the sneeze in to no avail. 

“Who the fucks there?” The honey badger asked pulling a gun. 

I watched as the blonde man tapped the honey badger on the shoulder and pointed toward where I was hiding, causing the man to aim his gun on me and I quickly sank down as close to the ledge as I could get so he had less of a chance to hit me. 

“Johnny put your gun away.” Julius said and a moment later I peeked back over the edge. “Why don’t you come on down?” Julius said looking up at me and I shook my head staying where I was. 

“How the hell did you even get up there?” The blonde asked, and I pointed at the opposite wall. I watched as he studied it for a moment before he started climbing up the wall, and when I looked down again I saw that Johnny and Julius had moved closer blocking any escape besides the window. Slipping back to look out the window I saw nothing but pavement below where I was, which would make a jump out the window little more than a death sentence. 

“Troy, be careful.” Julius said to the blonde as started across the beam. 

“Something’s not right.” Johnny whispered to Julius as he watched me. I watched back from beneath the shadows of my hood. My attention was turned back to Troy when I watched him stand up on the beam to make the jump over. When he made the jump I quickly grabbed the front of his shirt to pull him steady as he landed on the edge. 

“Thanks for that.” He said once he was steady, and I quickly backed as far away from him as the small space would allow. “Hey I’m not gonna hurt you.” He said holding his hands up in a surrendering gesture. “Why don’t we go down and join the others, we aren’t going to hurt you.” Troy said before I heard a ruckus near the door, and I peeked around the corner to see what it was and heard a sharp intake of breath from Troy which I ignored. I let out the breath I was holding when a young Chinese woman walked in. 

“Why on Earth did you call a meeting this early in the god damn morning?” The woman asked as she stormed through the church only to stop and turn when she noticed that Julius and Johnny were standing in the main room. “At least I’m not the last one here this time, where is Troy anyway? Isn’t he the one that’s always here before Julius?” The woman asked and raised an eyebrow when they both pointed toward where we were. She looked confused for a minute before she noticed me. “Who the hell is that?” 

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out.” Troy said from his space beside me. A moment later I heard the sound of tires screeching into the parking lot of the church. Looking out the window again, I started to shake and hid as far into the little alcove as I could. “We got company.” Troy said, and jumped down off the ledge. “She’s not here.” He said to the others and then started talking about a football game. 

“You seen a girl around here? About 5’5, red hair, violet eyes. She’s my daughter, she went missing last night.” He said, and I could tell he was pissed. 

“Haven’t seen anyone fitting that description here, sorry.” Julius said following Troy’s lead. 

“Alright, can you keep an eye out for me? Here’s my number in case you find her.” He said before handing over a piece of paper, and leaving the church. I watched out the window as he slid into his car and drove away.

“You gonna come down now?” Johnny asked, and I nodded before slipping over to the edge of the ledge. I lowered myself down over the edge until I was just hanging with my hands and a moment later I felt arms wrap around my lower legs. “Go ahead and let go, I’ll set you on the ground.” He said and I let go of the edge of the ledge, and he set me on my feet moments later. 

“That man your father?” Julius asked once I was on my feet in front of them. I nodded my head yes. “Why are you hiding from him?” Julius asked, and I just started at him for a moment before turning to Lin and pointing toward one of the rooms in the back. When she started walking I followed her, and closed the door of the room behind me. 

“So why are you hiding from your father?” She asked me, and I removed my hoodie to show her the scars, bruises, and fresh wounds. She took one look at me before she went slamming out of the room, and I quickly pulled the hoodie back on. 

“Lin, where are you going?” I heard Julius demand.

“I’m gonna kill that fucking bastard. I’m gonna skin that bastard alive.” She was yelling as I peeked out of the room. Johnny glanced over to where I was standing, and waved me over. I quickly slipped over to his side and when I didn’t protest he slipped an arm around my waist letting me burrow into his side. 

“I think you’re scaring her.” Johnny said, rubbing a hand over my back. 

“Careful, she’s got a whole mess of wounds on her back.” Lin said when she looked over. “She’s not talking ‘cause she’s got some nasty bruises around her throat, and probably some damage to her vocal cords.”

“This happen a lot?” Julius asked, and I nodded my head. “You join the Saints, and we can keep an eye on you. We may be small now, but we won’t be for long.” 

“What about getting’ her canonized?” Dex asked looking over at me.

“Try and canonize her now and I’ll fucking kill you.” Lin said getting into Dex’s face.

“We’ll give her a few weeks to heal back up before we canonize her.” Julius responded putting a hand on Dex’s shoulder.

“Where’s she gonna be stayin’? She is a runaway after all.”

“She can stay with me.” Lin said stepping forward, but Julius shook his head. 

“No I got somethin’ else to talk to you about.”

“You wanna stay at my place?” Johnny ask looking down at me, and I nodded my head. “It’s settled then; she’ll be stayin’ with me.” Johnny said leaving no room for argument. 

“Fine, go get her settled then. Troy, Dex you guys can head out to. We can put off out talk until later this afternoon.” Julius said waving them away. I cast Lin a worried look, and she smiled at me before walking over. 

“Don’t worry about me, Julius is a good man. He won’t hurt me; he won’t hurt you either.” She said brushing my hair out of my eyes, before she walked into the back room that everyone had been heading for before. 

“Come on, let’s get you home.” Johnny said steering me out of the church and toward a purple venom with gold rims, and gold dragon decals running down the side. He opened the passenger door and let me slip into the car before moving around to the driver side. “You got any clothes or anything?” Johnny asked me, and I shook my head again. “Alright, we’ll stop on the way and get you some clothes. We’re eventually gonna need to get you a gun as well, but for now you can use one of mine.” He said handing me a Vice 9, and a couple clips of ammo that I tucked into the pocket of the hoodie. 

Seconds later he started the car. We hadn’t even made it out of view of the church before a breaking news broadcast started. 

“Last night police screams drew police to a house in Filmore where they later arrested one man on a charge of attempted murder. He was released earlier today, because the suspected victim fled the scene before police could get a statement. Police report that the victim was likely a young woman, most likely the man’s daughter. She was last seen in jeans and a sweatshirt. She is barefoot and believed to be heavily wounded. I will now be allowed into the house to report its condition.” The news anchor said.

“Right this way Miss Valderamma.” I heard the police chief’s voice say, and then some shifting of equipment.

“Oh! Oh god! Are you sure we shouldn’t be looking for a body?” I heard her ask, and you could hear someone puking in the background. “The room where the young lady was suspected to be held is obviously a bedroom. There is blood splattered everywhere, and bloody ropes still remain tied to the bed. If you have any information on the whereabouts of this young woman, you are asked to contact the police immediately. This is Jane Valderamma, channel six news.” She finished, and then the song came back on, as Johnny pulled up to a Sloppy Seconds store.

“Don’t worry, they don’t ask questions here.” Johnny said when I gave him a questioning look. When I continued to sit in the car he came around, and opened the door helping me out. “Come on, you’re gonna need something to wear other than that.” He said wrapping an arm around my back again.

I grabbed a couple pair of jeans, and Johnny went to find a couple shirts. When I walked back over to him I notice he had a couple halter tops in his arms, but when I went to put them back on the rack he took them back from me. 

By the time he was done I had four pair of jeans, three halter tops, four cami’s, and a tube top, along with a couple overcoats, and a pair of combat boots. All of the tops were either purple or had purple accents on them. 

When we arrived at Johnny’s place he grabbed the bags out of the trunk and led me up to his apartment. “Kitchen’s through there. Bathroom is the door at the end of the hall.” He said as he led me into the apartment. “Those doors are the bedrooms. One on the right will be yours.” He continued, and walked into another small room. “If you want to take a shower you can borrow some of my clothes until yours are clean.” He said and I gave a nod heading back to the shower. 

I stayed in the shower until the hot water ran out scrubbing at my skin, just to try to feel clean again. Once I was done in the shower I had Johnny clean and bandage up my back, before he led me into the spare bedroom where I quickly fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to let everyone know that I combined chapter 3 & 4 because they seem to fit well together for me. I'll try to have another chapter up soon, but I am also taking four college courses online, and working so I don't know for sure when I'll be able to post again.

It was nearly two weeks later when I finally decided to leave the apartment. I showered and pulled on a pair of jeans, a cami, and one of Johnny’s button up tops that had a fleur-de-lis on the back. I grabbed the Vice 9 and slipped it in the waistband of my jeans. I also grabbed a medium size purple purse with an over the shoulder strap which I slipped the extra clips into, along with the money and a credit card that my father’s wallet had contained. 

Walking out the front door I started in the direction of the church, and ducked into the first Friendly Fire I saw. “Welcome to Friendly Fire, where we aim to fill all your needs for urban and sub-urban armourment, I’m Jane. How can I help you today?” The woman behind the counter asked. 

“Need some ammo for a Vice 9.” I said wandering over to look through the different knives on display. “What’s the lowdown on this one?” I asked pointing at a dagger that contained a black blade. 

“That one it a limited edition. Black Onyx blade, stainless steel handle, guaranteed to never rust or dull.” Jane explained pulling it out so I could get a better look at it. I slid the edge of my thumb over the blade and smiled in satisfaction when the slightest pressure caused blood to well up.

“I’ll take it, ten clips of the Vice 9 ammo, and a sheath for it.” I said handing over the credit card that had been in the wallet. 

“Sure thing sweetie, but can I give you some advice?” She asked running the card, and I gave her a nod. “Instead of running up his cards when he pisses you off, just leave him, you’ll be better off.” She said.

“Don’t worry, I already left. This is just in case he comes after me again.” I said giving her a weak smile as I put the card and clips in my purse before strapping the dagger around my waist. 

“Good for you honey. You just be careful with that gang.” She said as I walked out the door. 

I made it about halfway to the church when I began to feel like I was being followed and ducked into the next alley. I quickly pulled the dagger out of its sheath and held it in my left hand while I grabbed the Vice 9 with my right. A few moments later I watched three men dressed in red round the corner. 

“Come on chica, how 'bout we have some fun?” One of the guys asked as they started to approach me.

“How 'bout you and your boys get the fuck away from me.” I said keeping both weapons down by my side where they weren’t easily noticeable. 

“Now where’s the fun in that?” A different guy asked before he approached me, and I brought the knife up and watched as it slide through his neck like butter. As the other two stood there stunned I put a bullet in their skulls. I wiped the blood that was on my blade off on one of their shirts before I re-sheathed the dagger, and put the gun back where I had it before. I heard a siren off in the distance and quickly made my way to the church. 

I arrived at the church and followed the sounds of fighting around to the churchyard. I settled on the ledge next to the steps and watched Johnny breaking in the new recruits. I watched for about three fights before a guy walked up to me. 

“Hey.” The guy greeted. He was about five foot six, with brown hair, eyes, and skin. He was wearing a pair of jeans, and a baggy t-shirt. 

“Hey.” I replied looking back over at Johnny. 

“So, haven’t seen you round these parts before, you the gang whore?” the guy asked before he grabbed at my chest. 

“Keep your fucking hands off me.” I said pushing his hands away, and when he reached for me again I pounced on him, and pressed my blade against his throat. “You ever fucking touch me again, and you’ll be dead before you hit the ground.” I growled at the man before I let Dex pull me away, and drag me into the church.

“What the fuck was that?” Dex yelled as he paced back and forth in his office. 

“I ain’t taking that shit from anyone. If that’s what it’s going to be like here I’m gonna kill some fucker. I’m not gonna be some gang whore, so if that’s what I’m here for you let me know right now and I’ll be gone before Johnny gets home.” I said studying the blood that was on the edge of my blade. 

“You’re not here to be a whore, but don’t you think that was a little extreme?” Dex asked sounding exasperated.

“No, I told him no, he tried again. Next time there won’t be a warning, he’ll be dead, you got a problem with that make sure they don’t touch me.” I said before walking out of the office. I walked back out to the churchyard, and up to Troy. “Think you could take me to do something?” I asked him as I watched Johnny beat the crap out of some poor new recruit. 

“Sure, you ok?” Troy asked steering me over to his car. 

“Yeah, just need to get something from home.” I said with a sigh and started to give directions.

He watched as I tensed up, and became quite pale the closer we got until we pulled up to a house in Filmore that was closed off with police tape. “This the place?” Troy asked looking at it a bit skeptically.

I took a deep breath, and opened the door before I responded. “Yeah, this is the place.” I started toward the door, my hand unconsciously settling on the handle of my dagger. I tried the door, and when it turned up locked, I pulled the spare key out of the plant pot next to the door. 

Walking into the main hallway I was hit by flashbacks. I could see my father standing there yelling at me, telling me I’d never amount to anything. A glance in the living room, showed him beating my mother to death with his bare hands, a glance in the kitchen showed memories of the night I left, my shredded clothes still littering the floor. I was trembling by the time I made it to my bedroom, where the memory of him coming to me the first time hit me, his hands still covered in my mother’s blood sliding across my twelve year old body. I walked over to the closet, and threw everything out that was on the floor so I could get to the back corner. I could feel the panic starting to overwhelm me the longer I stayed in the house. I found the compartment in the back and quickly pulled the cover away so I could grab the bag that rested there. 

Shouldering the duffle bag I slid out of the closet to find Troy missing. I pulled the gun from the waistband of my jeans and went in search of him. I found him at the door of my father’s room taking pictures. Looking into the room I wondered myself how I was still alive. Blood was sprayed across nearly every surface in the room, and the bed was covered in blood. I was about to turn and walk away when the sun glinted off metal near the end of the bed. 

Walking over I picked up the whip that was draped across the end of the bed and let the length of it run through my hands until I held the end in my hand. Tied to the end were small pieces of sharp, jagged metal. I walked over to the instruments he had set up on the nightstand and examined a few of them before I picked up a bottle and read the label. As soon as I deciphered the name on the bottle it fell from my hand shattering by my feet, and I quickly made my way to the bathroom to puke up that morning’s breakfast. 

When I was done I noticed Troy by my side. “You got everything you needed?” Troy asked helping me back to my feet after I flushed the toilet, and I nodded my head. “Let’s get you out of here.” He said taking the bag I had dropped in the doorway, and leading me out of the house, and to the passenger side of his car.

“He was gonna kill me.” I whispered when Troy released me.

“He can’t get to you now, we’ll make sure of it.” Troy said sliding my legs into the car so I was facing forward before he buckled me in and shut the door. He stopped at a Freckle Bitches on the way back to the church. When we pulled up to the church I quickly slid out of the car and made my way to the closest trashcan where I started to heave again. 

“Where the fuck you been?” Johnny asked as he walked out of the church. He stopped to take in the scene in front of him before he hurried over to where I was. “The fuck happened?” Johnny asked Troy pulling me into his arms when I finally quit dry heaving. 

“She wanted to go pick up some of her things. I took a few pictures while we were there.” Troy said. I was trembling in Johnny’s arms with my face buried in his chest when he started to swear. 

“Don’t you worry sweetheart. I’ll kill that bastard for you.” Johnny said and picked me up so my legs were wrapped around his waist. He took my duffle bag and a thing of drinks before he took me back into the church and straight into Julius’ office where they were all meeting. 

“She ok?” I heard Julius ask as Johnny sat down in one of the chairs pulling me into his lap. 

“She will be.” Johnny said running a hand over my hair. I snuggled deeper into his arms as I felt sleep trying to claim me. “Troy, show him.” Johnny said when Troy walked into the room. “She wanted to go get something from home.” Johnny said. 

“The duffle bag.” Troy supplied. 

“All that blood hers?” Julius asked.

“Yes, it’s all from that night.” I said to no one in particular.

“There’s also this one.” Troy said.

“You think?” Julius trailed off. 

“I do, why else would they be there?” Troy said, and that was the last thing I heard before sleep pulled me all the way under.

I woke with a start, and had no idea where I was. Sitting up I noticed that I was still in Julius’ office. Looking around I found what had woken me up. The man from earlier that day was in the office with me, his shirt and shoes were already tossed on the floor. When he noticed I was moving he quickly came over and pinned me down to the couch. 

“You stupid bitch. You think you can get away with dissing me like that in front of everyone. I’ll teach you some fucking respect bitch.” He growled while trying to get my clothes off me. 

“You won’t get away with this, I’ll fucking kill you.” I yelled as I struggled against his hold. 

“Scream all you want, ain’t no one here to save you now.” He said, just before I managed to hit him between the legs. “You bitch!” He yelled as he rolled to the floor clutching himself. 

I got off the couch and ran over to the desk to grab my dagger, only to be grabbed around the ankle just as I reached it causing it to fly across the room. 

“I’ll kill you, I swear to god I’ll fucking kill you.” I yelled trying to roll away from him as he undid my jeans and started to pull them down. 

“Shut up already, you dumb bitch.” He growled out slamming my head into the floor. My vision blurred for a couple minutes, and by the time I came back to myself I was completely naked. I glanced around and noticed my dagger just to my right, under the desk. I slid my hand over until I felt the grip beneath my fingers. 

“I’ll only tell you one more time to get the hell away from me.” I growled out at him, wrapping my fingers around the hilt of the dagger. 

“Shut. Up. You. Stupid. Bitch.” He said punching me in the face and chest with every word. 

“Your lose.” I replied bringing the knife up to embed it into his back. As I pulled the knife back out he rolled off me. I rolled onto my knees and started to repeatedly stab him in the chest. 

“I. TOLD. YOU. NOT. TO. TOUCH. ME.” I screamed plunging my dagger into his chest with each word until I started sobbing on the last word. “I told you not to touch me.” I whispered sitting down on the floor a little ways away. 

When I finally got myself back under control I grabbed his shirt to wipe off what blood I could and pulled my clothes back on. I grabbed my weapons and put them on before grabbing my duffle bag and walking into the main room to find it empty. I could hear the sounds of fighting out in the courtyard again, and looked out to see more canonizing going on. I briefly considered going out there with the others, but decided against it and went back to Johnny’s. I stopped at a brown baggers on the way, and grabbed a couple bottles of scotch. 

When I got to his house I quickly went to the shower, and scrubbed at the blood on my body until the water went cold. When I got out I glanced in the mirror, and knew I would have a black eye by tomorrow, and my lip was split open. I went into Johnny’s room and grabbed a pair of his sweatpants and another button up. I rolled the waist of the pants a few times and did up the button that was between my breast before I turned the radio on, and sprawled out on the couch with my gun, dagger, and a bottle of scotch. The bottle was about half empty when the phone rang. I let it go to the answering machine, and heard Julius’ voice come through the machine. 

“Come on player. If you’re there you need to pick up the phone.” Julius said, and I got up and stumbled over to the phone, knocking it off the wall when I got to it. 

“Hello?” I questioned when I picked the phone up. I went to sit in one of the chairs but only succeeded in knocking the chair over and falling on my ass. 

“You best talk to me player, why the hell is there a member of my gang dead in my office.” Julius asked, and I could hear Johnny in the background asking for the phone. 

“I told him no, he didn’t want to listen, so I may have introduced him to my knife once or twice.” I said with a small giggle.

“Are you drunk?” I heard Johnny asked, and assumed I was on speakerphone.

“Maybe a little. Kinda feel like I’m on a boat, everything keeps moving.” I stood up with the help of the sink and looked out the window. “Also, I think someone may be watching your house.” I said before opening the window. “The fuck you staring at asshole.” I yelled out the window, and watched as the car started up and left. “They left now.” I said as I stumbled back over to the couch and picked up the bottle of scotch off the table to take another drink.

“You trying to get yourself killed?” I heard Troy’s voice on the phone. 

“Go home.” I heard Julius say, and assumed he was talking to Johnny. 

“No, most people run if they know they’ve been spotted.” I said flopping down on the couch. 

“Try to keep yourself out of trouble, Johnny will be there in a few minutes.” Julius said before hanging up the phone. 

I lay there drinking and listening to the radio until I heard a noise at the door. Grabbing my gun I took another drink of the nearly empty bottle and watched the door as it swung open. I watched Johnny walk in the door and dropped the gun on the floor. “Come on, let’s get some food in you.” Johnny said moving my feet off the couch, and setting a Freckle Bitches bag on the coffee table. He pulled me so I was sitting upright, and placed a thing of chicken bazooms, a thing of fries, and a big swallow in front of me. When I started to protest about the drink, he took the scotch finishing the last of it and pushed the big swallow closer to me. “How you feeling?” Johnny asked looking over at me. 

“At the moment? Drunk. Very, very drunk.” I said eating some of the fries.

“How you feeling in general? You’ve had a hard time of things recently.” He said brushing his thumb lightly over my bruised cheek.

“Fuck if I know. I wish that bastard was still alive to I could fucking kill him again.” I said staring down at my hands.

“How 'bout I take you out tomorrow, and we can go blow some shit up.” Johnny said looking over at me after he finished his meal. 

“Sounds fun.” I said with a smile as I finished my own food.

“Alright, let’s get you to bed.” Johnny said turning off the radio, and helping me to my feet, my dagger in hand.

“Can I sleep with you tonight?” I asked not wanting to be alone.

“Only if you promise not to kill me while I sleep.” Johnny said leading me toward his bedroom. 

“I promise.” I said handing Johnny my dagger, and placed a small kiss on his cheek. He helped me into bed and covered me before setting his sunglasses on the dresser and disappearing into the bathroom. He came back out a few minutes later with a pair of sweatpants on and crawled into bed. I turned so I could lay my head on his chest, and felt him curl his arm around my back pulling me closer to him. Laying there listening to his heartbeat under my ear I finally managed to relax more than I had in quite some time. I let my finger brush back and forth over his ribs for a while feeling the scars under my fingers and eventually fell into a deep sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case my description isn't very good, Jason is based off the actor Jason Statham. Also most of this chapter was written between 1 and 2 in the morning so please excuse any typos, and grammar errors, but feel free to point them out so I can fix them. Just did some superficial editing, and cut out the ending. Turns out I wasn't ready to bring daddy dearest back into the story yet. It lead to a rather ugly confrontation between Red and Julius in which Julius told red he was going to use her as a whore. Not where this was supposed to go at all so it may or may not be edited a bit more before the next chapter makes an appearance. If you wish to see the mess that was becoming the next chapter, let me know and I'll send it to you.

I woke up with the sun shining in my eyes and tried to bury my head in the pillow, only to find that my pillow was made of flesh. I rolled away from the person in the bed quick enough that I landed on the floor beside the bed, and continued to move away from the bed until my back was to the wall. 

“You ok Red?” came a voice from the bed that brought me back to the here and now. 

“Johnny?” I asked looking up at the bed to find him staring down at me.

“How you feeling? Johnny asked as I continued to stare at him. 

“My face feels like someone tried to bash it in, it hurts to breathe, and my brain feels like it’s about to explode. Overall not my best morning.” 

“Why don’t we put off blowing shit up until you’re feeling better then? Probably should wait until after you’re canonized.” He said getting off the bed, and walking into the bathroom. He came back a few moments later with a glass of water and a couple pain pills. 

“About canonizing. . .” I trailed off as I remembered him canonizing the others yesterday. 

“What about it?” Johnny asked helping me up after I took the pills. He led me out to the kitchen and set me at the kitchen table. 

“I want you to teach me how to fight.” I said as a cup of black coffee was set in front of me. 

“You seemed to do just fine yesterday. Took down three of the Carnales, and Jared twice.” 

“How do you know I took down those Carnales?” I asked getting sidetracked.

“Call came over the radio about five minutes before you showed up of three Carnales being found dead in an alley after following a girl in purple into it. When you showed up there was also some blood already on my shirt.” He said with a raised eyebrow. 

“Sorry about that.” I said looking down at the table. “The only reason I stood a chance in any of those fights is because I took ‘em by surprise. I don’t know how to fight, and I want to learn, will you teach me?” I asked looking back up at him.

“Alright, if you feel up to it after breakfast we’ll go down to the gym and teach you a few things.” He said placing an egg sandwich in front of me. It was about an hour later when I finally felt well enough to move. 

“So, you feeling up to going out?” Johnny asked after a glance at the clock. I nodded my head in response taking another drink of my coffee. “Alright, I just gotta make a call to the guys to let ‘em know I won’t be in today.” He said before getting up to go make the call.

“Hey, tell Julius I won’t be in today.”

. . . 

“No, she’s fine.” 

. . . 

“Gonna take her to the gym. She wants to learn a few things.” 

. . . 

“Alright, I’ll let her know.” A few moments later Johnny walked back into the room. “Want the good news or the bad news first?” 

“Good news I guess.” 

“I got the entire day off, so we have plenty of time to teach you what you’ll need to know for your canonization.” 

“And the bad news?”

“Julius is insisting you get canonized tomorrow. He doesn’t take very kindly to the gang killing each other, but right now you’re not even considered part of the gang. Without being a member, by hanging out at the church, you’re gonna call some unwanted attention. We got whores showing up at the church every other day trying to get laid, and right now that’s how you’re coming across to the guy because you aren’t canonized. On top of that there are some members demanding your head because you killed Jared.” Johnny explained pacing back and forth in front of me.

“Is one day going to be enough?” I asked a bit skeptically.

“It’ll have to be.” Johnny said running a hand over his face before he left the room again. I let out a small sigh and decided to go get dressed. When I came back out Johnny was already waiting for me with keys in hand. He turned and walked out the door, and I followed him out to his car. I admired the paintjob on the Venom for a moment before sliding into the passenger seat. 

When we got to the gym, Johnny led me in. We walked past all the weightlift machines and treadmills into another room that contained various punching bags and a fighting ring. He taped up my hands then led me over to a punching bag. “We’ll start hear so I can get an idea of where you’re at.” He said before walking over to a stand and pressing a few buttons on a remote there to start some music. He let me hit the bag a few times before he stopped me. “First things first, you swing your left out to far, you need to keep it tight like you do your right. Next when you go to throw a punch make sure you’re twisting your wrist like this, you get a better impact and it’ll hurt more. Try a few like that.” He said stepping back again. 

This continued for a few hours before he called for a break. When I turned away from the bag I saw Johnny paying one of the Freckle Bitches mascots. “You know, if I didn’t know she worked for Freckle Bitches I’d say that looked quite seedy.” I said as the door closed behind the woman. 

“You gonna stand there or are you gonna come eat somethin’. After lunch comes the hands on part, but you can unwrap your hands for now.” He said with a small smile. 

“I thought that was pretty hands on.” I said looking down at the tape that had bits of red seeping through. 

“How bad are they?” he asked when he saw me looking at my hands. 

“Not too bad, just a little sore.” I said sitting down and grabbing one of the twins he had in front of him. 

“Guess it’s a good thing I got two sets of twins.” He said with a smirk placing the other bag on the table. 

“So you think I stand a chance tomorrow?” I asked between bites of my burger. 

“Won’t know for sure until I see how you do with a moving target. He should be here any minute now.” He said glancing at his phone. I had just finished my food when the door opened. 

“Uh, Johnny? You sure about this?” I asked watching a guy who stood about 5’10 with a body built of nothing but pure muscle walk in. His hair was extremely close shaved, and he had a five ‘o’clock shadow. Brown eyes, strong jawline, and a somewhat pissed off look on his face. Overall he was quite handsome, but looking at him as an opponent was a bit intimidating.

“Yup, that’s Jason. He knows how to push someone to their limits, but not over them. No one better to teach you, not even me. You’ll need to put your hair up though, he doesn’t like it to be in the way.” Johnny said handing me a hair tie and brush. “There’s a bathroom over there, make sure you take care of everything before you come back out. We’ll rewrap your hands before you start.”

I went into the bathroom and took care of business before going over to wash my hands and put my hair up. As soon as I got a good look at myself I had to fight to keep the little bit of vanity I had at bay. The entire right side of my face was bruised in a mix of dark purples, reds and blacks. With a sigh I brushed my hair back into a sleek pony tail. Taking another look I saw the bruises on my arms that my hair had covered, perfect handprints from that bastard. Lifting my shirt showed a few more colorful patches of skin across my chest and stomach. I poked at one that was near a particularly tender spot on my ribs, and let out a hiss as pain radiated from that area. 

When I walked back out I went over to where Johnny, and Jason were standing. “Jason this is . . .” Johnny trailed off realizing that he didn’t actually know my name. 

“Red works.” I said with a tight smile, and watched as he let a small smile slip onto his face. 

“I’m Jason.” He said holding out his hand. I looked at it wearily for a moment before I glanced over at Johnny who gave me a small nod. 

“Pleased to meet you.” I said shaking his hand. 

“Who hit you?” he asked reaching toward my face, until I flinched away from him. 

“Doesn’t matter.” I said backing away from him a bit, and crossed my arms over my chest.

“Why not?” 

“Because the bastards dead.” 

“Then what do you need me for?” He asked crossing his arms over his chest. 

I let out a sigh and let my arms fall back to my side. “I’m quick, but I only win if I can catch my opponent by surprise. Then even if I do catch my opponent by surprise I have to end things in those first few moments because they can easily outmaneuver me.” 

“I’ll give you your first lesson while you’re getting your hands wrapped.” Jason said waving Johnny over to wrap my hands. “Never assume someone else is better than you. Convince yourself that you are better than anyone you are about to go up against because your mindset can make or break you in a fight. That does not however mean to get overconfident. How long was she on the bags earlier?” 

“Couple hours.” Johnny replied.

“Any improvement?” 

“Quite a bit actually. She’s a fast learner, but she lacks confidence.” 

“Why?” Jason asked, this question directed at me. 

I stared down at my hands not answering when Johnny spoke to me. “You tell him or I will. Troy sent me the pictures so I could show him those to if you want.” 

I shook my head before speaking up. “I was raised in a house where women were there to be used for whatever a man wished, and by whoever. My mother was beaten to death in the living room by my father because she refused to let his friends take advantage of her. Women aren’t supposed to fight back.” 

“What about your experience with other men?” Jason asked looking at me.

“Every man I have let within arm’s reach of me has abused me in some way. Johnny is the first man who hasn’t. Well Johnny and Troy, but somethings a little strange with him, he’s hiding something.” 

“Alright, into the ring.” Jason said before walking over himself. 

We went back and forth for a few rounds with Jason and Johnny occasionally shouting out instructions on my form. I had just landed particularly hard on the bruised area of my ribs when he called for a break. He offered me his hand and pulled me to my feet, and I couldn’t help the small gasp of breath that caused both Johnny and Jason to look at me with concern. 

“You ok?” Jason asked looking me over before his eyes zeroed in on the hand that was holding my ribs. 

“Yeah.” I said with a small nod, as I moved my hand and stepped out of the ring to go get a drink. 

“Show me your ribs.” He said walking over to where I was now standing with Johnny. 

“I don’t think I’m very comfortable with that.” I said shaking my head. 

“Show me or I’m done training you for today.” Jason countered, and when I looked at Johnny he just gave me a shrug. My shoulders sagged in defeat and I grabbed the bottom of my cami and pulled it up to just under my breasts and heard ‘em both suck in a breath. “Shit, how are you even functioning?” he asked me as he stared at the bruises. 

“I’ve had worse.” I replied not thinking much of it, and pulled my shirt back down to cover the bruises.

“You have that checked out to make sure nothing’s broke?” he asked moving a bit closer.

“Nothing’s broke. I’d know if it was.” 

“Why don’t you let me check, just to be sure?” Jason asked moving closer and Johnny moved to stand beside me. 

“It’s him or the hospital.” Johnny said, and when I looked up at him he looked pissed. 

I gave a nod and Jason cleared the table off. “Take your shirt off, and lay down here.” He said gesturing to the tabletop, and I did as I was told. Johnny came over to stand beside me, and laced the fingers of both of my hands with his. I thought it was just for support at first until Jason started prodding at my ribs, and my first reaction was to try to slap his hands away which Johnny effectively stopped. “Good news is nothing’s broken, bad news is I have no idea if it’s cracked. We should stop for today, and you probably shouldn’t go through with your fight tomorrow.” 

“Don’t really have a choice with tomorrows fight.” I said looking down at my shirt in my hands. 

“The guy who did this to her was one of Julius’ crew. She left him dead in Julius’ office. Now he’s demanding she get canonized tomorrow.” Johnny explained at Jason’s look. 

“Fine, I want to be there for it.” Jason said, and helped me get my shirt back on. 

“Think I stand a chance tomorrow?” 

“Maybe, depends on which boys Julius picked.” Johnny replied

“Let’s go back to my place. I have a few things there that might help to relieve some of the pain.” Jason offered, and Johnny led me back out to his car after cleaning up. “I’ll meet you there.” Jason said before taking off in a Black Fer De Lance. 

“He makes you uncomfortable.” Johnny stated as we were driving down the freeway. 

“A little, most guys make me uncomfortable.” I said with a shrug. 

“He can be a little overwhelming, but he’s a good guy. He wouldn’t hurt you on purpose.” Johnny said placing his hand on my thigh. 

“As long as you trust him, that’s enough for me, for now.” I said with a small smile placing my hand over his. 

“You really ok?” Johnny asked gesturing to my chest.

“Yeah, it hurts like a bitch, but I’m fine.” I said with a small smile and looked around when the car came to a stop. 

“Looks like we might have beat him back.” Johnny said with a frown, and a few minutes later Jason pulled up. 

“Sorry, had to stop for a couple things.” He said holding up a bag from On The Rag. He led us into the house and then handed me the bag. “Go put this on, there’s a bathroom right through there.” He said pointing through a bedroom. “Your trunks are still in there as well.” He told Johnny as I was closing the bathroom door. 

Reaching into the bag I pulled out a small, purple bikini, and a swimsuit cover that was sheer black. Stripping my clothes off, I slipped the bikini on, and glanced at myself in the mirror before pulling the cover over it. “Johnny, I’m not comfortable with this.” I said poking my head out the door to see him in nothing but a pair of swim trunks. To say the sight was drool worthy would be an understatement. 

“Well, step out here so I can see.” Johnny said, and I stepped around the door. “What makes you uncomfortable?” Johnny asked taking in the bikini and cover. 

“My back.” I said turning so he could see the scars that showed through the sheer material. 

“Come here.” He said waving me over to sit on the stool in front of the vanity. “Your scars are nothing to be ashamed of.” He said running his fingers over some of the more prominent one, most of them were still red, and angry looking. “They just prove that you were stronger then whatever tried to kill you. If you still feel uncomfortable we’ll let your hair down.” He said slipping the hair tie out to brush out my hair. “Your hair is long enough to cover most of them.” He finished before placing a kiss on my shoulder. “Come on, Jason’s waiting.”

He led me out of the bedroom, and out to a Jacuzzi that was in Jason’s back yard. Jason was already relaxing in it, and Johnny helped me out of the cover and into the water. “I knew that would be a good color on you, really brings out your eyes.” 

“Thanks.” I said leaning into Johnny’s side as he settled in next to me, and took the glass of red wine Jason offered me. After relaxing and talking for a while we moved into the house where Jason order a couple pizzas and we sat in the living room eating and watching movies, until I eventually fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not really sure how well this turned out, it was mostly written between midnight and 2AM again. Please point out and errors you find so I can fix them. If you already read chapter 4 please go back and reread the ending. I did take quite a bit out.

The next morning Jason woke me up so I could eat breakfast before going to the church. “We should probably wrap your ribs just to be safe.” Jason said as he came into the kitchen with a wrap. 

A few hours later Johnny took me to the church for my canonization. I made sure to tie my hair back and got out of Johnny’s car. “What’s he doin’ here, Johnny?” 

“He’s been teaching her a few things, said he wanted to see how she did in a real life situation.” Johnny replied, and got a nod from Julius. 

“You know what you gotta do Red, just don’t kill my boys.” Julius said before walking into the church. I briefly glanced at each of my opponents, four guys between 5’5 and 5’8, and shifted into the fighter stance Jason had taught me yesterday. 

I managed to take down two of the guys before the third landed a hit to my ribs, and the fourth swept my feet out from under me. They both hit me a few more times before Troy spoke up.

“Alright boys, that’s enough.” He said walking over to help me up. “C’mon, get on your feet. We all went through that.” 

“Blood in, blood out.” Dex said walking over to make sure I was ok. When they both walked away Johnny and Jason approached me. 

“You ok? You took a pretty bad hit to the ribs.” Jason said leading me over to a nearby tree. 

“Not really, but I ain’t giving that asshole the satisfaction of seeing me go down. I’ll be fine until we can get out of here.” I said before leaning back against the tree. A moment later Julius walked out of the church.

“Every muthafucka here knows what we need to do. Those bitches be ridin’ around thinkin’ they own these streets. I don’t care what flags they’re flyin’ . . . Rollerz, Carnales, Vice Kings . . . no one’s makin’ this nigga scared to walk the Row. We bout to lock this shit down . . . right now.”

A few random Saints yelled and cheered before Johnny spoke up. “Fuck Yeah!” He shouted at the prospect of murdering some bastards. He turned to look at me when something else caught his eye. “Who the fuck’s this guy?” Johnny asked and I looked over to see a guy in baggy pants and a black t-shirt standing among the others. He had light brown hair cut in a military style, and bright green eyes. 

“Troy and I found him. I was gonna see if he’d ride with us.” Julius said quickly to diffuse the situation.

“Julius, if he wants to run with the Saints he’s gotta be canonized.” Johnny said with just a hint of insolence in his voice.

“He’s right, Julius. Everyone had to do it.” Troy said either not hearing, or ignoring the tone Johnny had just used.

“You ready for this playa.” Julius asked the kid, and I couldn’t help but shake my head when all he did was crack his neck. 

A few moments later the fight started. The fight went by a lot quicker than mine, and I couldn’t help but admire the raw power this newbie exhibited. When all of his opponents were down he wiped a bit of blood from his lower lip and then looked right at me before Troy caught his attention.

“You earned your colors today.” Troy said before doing some complicated handshake. 

“That’s some impressive shit; the only other Saint who kicked ass like that was Johnny.” Dex said walking over and placing a hand on the kids shoulder.

“Shit, took me half the time.” Johnny couldn’t help, but to pipe in with.

“Welcome to the 3rd Street Saints” Julius said giving the kid a fist bump before walking back to the front of the crowd. “Let’s get down to business. If we’re serious about takin’ back the Row, we gotta let those muthafuckas know what time it is. Break it down, and it’s all about respect. Get enough of it, they’re gonna back off, and we’re gonna move right on in. We got some friends in town that could use some help. Give ‘em a hand. ‘Course you can always drop any muthafucka flyin’ the wrong flag. So long as word gets out that the Saints is on the Row, I don’t give a damn how you do it. You feel me?” Julius said letting his eyes move over the crowd.

Troy walked down the steps and over to where I was standing. “Come on, Julius put me in charge of getting you and the kid your first gun, and job.” 

I tensed a bit but gave a nod pushing off the tree. “Whatever, let’s go.” I said and followed him out of the courtyard. I glanced over at the new kid as he fell into step beside me. He looked over at me, and gave me a small smile before watching Troy walk into the Friendly Fire. “I’ll take a Vice. Nice and cheap, already have ammo for it, and then I can give Johnny his back.” I said and saw Troy nod. I looked over at the kid and watch him point out an SMG. Troy handed over the money, and gave us both our respective guns, and I quickly checked mine over before loading it. 

“Let’s go, we need to clean up the Row a bit before I drop you off for your jobs.” Troy said leading us further away from the church until we ran into a group of three Vice Kings. “This one’s yours kid.” Troy said waving the new kid forward. 

I waited until the kid walked away before turning to Troy. “What’s this? Some kind of final test or something?” I asked watching the kid as he walked closer to the VKs my hand resting on my Vice. 

“You could say that. It’s more to get you used to this life. Look at it this way, if we were to send some kid out on a job, and he shoots someone and panics what happens to ‘em? They die because they froze. This gives us a heads up, and someone to back the newbie up if he does freeze.” Troy said never taking his eyes off the kid. 

“So why are you in charge of this part?” I asked.

“I’m the best shot out of the lieutenants besides Johnny, and he tends to go overboard.” I glanced at Troy briefly, but quickly looked back up in time to see the kid drop all three VKs in quick succession. 

“Guess it’s my turn now.” I said watching the kid take any money or ammo he could find off the bodies.

“Yeah looks like the kids a natural.” Troy said, and we both went over to the kid before continuing on around the corner where we spotted three more VKs standing around a yellow car. When we were about twenty feet away I pulled out the Vice and fired three shots watching each of my targets drop. 

As we walked closer to the bodies I noticed one of them had dropped a cell phone, and the call was still through. “Hello?” I asked as I put it to my ear.

“Who the fuck are you? Where’s Jim?” A male voice demanded. 

“I don’t know, he dropped his phone and ran for something a few seconds ago.” 

“You lying fucking bitch! I heard gunshots a few moments ago.” 

“Whatever.” I said hanging the phone up, and picking up a second Vice 9, and an SMG along with grabbing the money they had been carrying. I counted it quickly and gave a shrug before shoving it into my pocket. Not too bad, Three hundred eighty two dollars between the three of them. I glanced up hearing tires screech on the pavement down the road. “Think we can take the car this time?” I asked Troy already moving toward the car.

“Yeah, get in the fucking car.” Troy said watching a second car skid around the corner behind the first. I jumping in the driver’s seat, and quickly started the car, and as soon as they were both in I took off. As the car fishtailed out of the parking I turned to briefly look at Troy. 

“I probably should have let one of you drive, I have no fucking clue what I’m doing.” I said turning a corner, and the rear bumper knocked into the light pole.

“WHAT!” Troy yelled looking over at me horrified. 

“Yeah.” I said scratching at the back of my head. “First time I’ve ever driven a car. On the bright side I haven’t crashed into anything substantial.” I said just before the VKs started firing at us. 

“Yet.” I heard Troy mutter before turning to fire at the cars behind us. “Got one coming up on your side.” Troy warned, and I pulled my gun out aiming at the car with my left hand, while trying to keep us on the road with my right. I let off a shot and watched the car swerve and crash into a nearby building. I turned the radio up to help steady my nerves a bit and smiled at the lyric that started blaring through the car. 

I don’t care about my makeup  
I like it better with my jeans all ripped up  
Don’t know how to keep my mouth shut  
You say so what  
I don’t care if I’m a misfit  
I like it better than that hipster bullshit.

“We should probably get to a Forgive and Forget, these guys ain’t backing off.” Troy said sending another into a spin.

“Aight where’s the nearest one.” 

“Just keep following this road, you can’t miss it.” Troy said.

I kept going until I saw the large Forgive and Forget sign and pulled in. “Looks like you got some heat, I can take care of that for you for, say $75.” The guy at the window said, and I handed the money over. As I drove out I noticed Troy giving me a strange look. 

“What? Do I have blood on my face?” I asked glancing over at him. 

“That was really fucked up. Standard price is $100 for that kind of notoriety.” 

“I have tits Troy, that tends to influence weak minded men.” I said, and heard the kid start chuckling in the back seat. “See even the kid thinks you’re being ridiculous.” I said pulling up to the drive threw for Freckle Bitches. 

“Welcome to Freckle Bitches, where you can’t beat out meat. What can I get for you today?” A female voice called through the intercom. 

Troy and I told her our orders while the kid pointed to what he wanted and I told the woman. We ended up with three big swallows, a fun bag, and two sets of twins. “Where to?” I asked once we finished eating. 

“Amberbrook, that’s where your contact is gonna be kid.” Troy said to the kid in the back. 

“Hey, what’s your name anyway? We can’t just keep calling you kid.” I said pulling onto the highway, and sped toward the museum district. A moment later a piece of paper was passed up to the front seat. 

“Hayden?” Troy questioned, and Hayden nodded. I took the off ramp into the museum district, and quickly arrived in Amberbrook. 

“Where to now?” I asked, and followed Troy’s direction to an old warehouse. 

We all got out and walked toward the warehouse and a black man in a white jersey came out, he had on a black baseball cap backward, and a gold chain around his neck. “Hey, Marvin, long time no see man. This is Hayden, he’s gonna be doing that work for you, and this is red.” Troy said shaking the man’s hand. 

“Hey bro, I’m Marvin . . . I ain’t one to bullshit, so I’m gonna lay it all on the table for ya. I got the best goddamn product in Stilwater. Now see that’s good, ‘cause my buyers need this shit like porn stars need cock, but stealin’ junkies away from other dealers has a tendency to create bad feelings if ya know what I’m sayin’. You cover my ass when I’m slingin’ and I’ll make sure you see the green.” Marvin said leading Hayden over to his car. 

I raised an eyebrow at Troy, and got back in the car. “Head out to Misty Lane.” He said and I quickly took off again. “That little club there is the one you want.” He said pointing to a small brothel. 

“I’m not working in a fucking brothel Troy.” I said pulling into the parking lot. 

“Don’t worry no one’s going to be touching you.” Troy said getting out to head in leaving me no choice but to follow. 

Walking in, I was greeted by a woman with a maroon colored blazer on with a plunging neckline. She was wearing a black choker and her red hair was nicely styled. 

“Hey darlin’ I’m Jenna. Why don’t you have a seat?” The woman said gesturing to the chair across from her. I pulled it out and sat down after seeing the seat was relatively cleaned, Troy chuckled at me, and I gave him a rueful look. “I don’t mean to pick on ya or anything, but most of the Saints go to places that are a little trashier . . . why do I got the feelin’ you’re looking for something other than pink?”

“Trust me, right now I don’t even know why I’m here.” I told her glaring over at Troy.

“I heard you like to keep to yourself . . . that’s good, I like discretion. Celebrities look to me when they’re in need of companionship. They’ve all made their way into my little black book, and the list keeps growing. These are powerful people, and if their hobbies were made public it would ruin their careers, to say nothing of my livelihood. If you’re up for it, I need a driver. Simple job; take the girl to the client, then give them enough time in private.” The woman said looking at me expectantly. 

“I’d be delighted to help.” I said forcing a smile on my face. “Troy could I speak with you outside for a moment?” I said walking out the door to stand by the car. 

“What’s up?” he asked walking over to me, and I swung my fist hitting him hard in the face. 

“You think this shit is fucking funny?” I asked swinging again, and hitting him in the chest. “You’re a real fucking bastard.” I said grabbing my things out of the car before storming back into the brothel. 

“Get everything sorted out?” Jenna asked as I was shaking out my hand. 

“Yes ma’am.” I said dropping my hand to my side. “When would you like me to start?” 

“Now would be great. There’s a car out back for you to use. My girl will meet you out there.” She said, and I spent the next three hours listening to people having sex in the back of the car while I drove around trying to avoid the paparazzi. 

I got back to the church around 6’o’clock to find Troy sitting on one of the pews. “That was some seriously fuck up shit Troy.” I said and smirked when he jumped. “I am never going to look at a shifter the same way again.” I said with a shutter, and heard Johnny laugh from behind me. 

“Hey Red, how you doing?” Johnny asked walking over. 

“Stiff, and sore, and I’m so ready to go home.” I said running a hand down my face. 

“Alright, come on and I’ll drive you.” Johnny said placing an arm around my shoulders. When we got out to his car I settled into the passenger seat, and couldn’t help the look of disgust that crossed my features when I glanced at the shifter. Johnny laughed at my expression before putting the car in drive. “Alright spill, what the fuck did Troy have you doing to put that look on your face, good arm be the way.” He said referring to the bruise forming on Troy’s cheek.

“Thanks I think. He had me running whores for this brothel in the suburbs.” 

“Really? You’d think he’d have more tact than that. He knows what happened to you, doesn’t he?” Johnny asked, having gotten out of me briefly what my father had done to me. 

“I think he knows, or he suspects. I think he expected me to flat out refuse, but I have more common sense than that, and I wasn’t going to insult someone who’s helping the Saints when we’ve only just barely started to get somewhere. Where’s Jason?” 

“He had some other things to attend to. Told me to make sure to check on your ribs when I saw you again.” He said pulling into his driveway, and helping me into the house. 

“Whatever, can I get a shower first? I smell like sex.” I said walking toward the bathroom without waiting for an answer. 

When I was finished with my shower I wrapped a towel around my hair and body, and crossed the hall to my room, but stopped when I heard a voice from earlier that night speaking in the living room. I quickly slipping into a pair of shorts and one of Johnny’s button ups I had confiscated before walking out to join him in the living room. “Ah here she is. Red, meet Aisha. Aisha, meet Red.” Johnny said introducing us. I looked her over, she was an extremely fit, black girl. She was wearing white midcalf boots, and a jean skirt, with a purple tube top, and a purple jacket over that with large hoop earrings and a purple and white baseball cap on. 

“Hey! You look really familiar. Do I know you from somewhere?” She asked shaking my hand. 

“I’m pretty sure I drove you around about two hours ago. You’re the one that wanted me to hit the stunt jumps.” I said with a frown, and a frown grew on her face as she turned to a now angry Johnny.

“Johnny I can explain-.” She started, but he cut her off. 

“Save it. I don’t want to hear it.” He said crossing his arms over his chest, and she huffed before walking out the door. 

“I’m sorry. That wasn’t very nice of me.” I said looking down at my hands. 

“It’s fine. I knew something had been going on with her, I just didn’t know what, so thanks for the heads up.” Johnny said getting me an ice pack. He looked over my ribs and poked around to make sure none of ‘em had broke before handing me the ice pack. “Put that on, I’ll make dinner.” He said before bringing me a glass of scotch. About a half hour later Johnny called me out to the kitchen, and I found everything for tacos laid out. 

“Mmm tacos.” I said grabbing a plate, and making two tacos before we both settled onto the couch in the living room. After I finished eating I took our plates out to the kitchen and washed them, and put dinner away, and found Johnny standing in the doorway. I walked over to him, and place my arms around his waist resting my head in his chest. “Thank you for taking care of me.” I said before leaning up to give him a small kiss on the cheek.

“It’s really no big deal.” Johnny said tightening his arms around my waist briefly before he let me go, and I backed up. 

“Maybe not to you, but no one has ever really taken care of me before. Not even the people that were supposed to.” I said with a shrug before going to bed.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the posts are taking so long. Been really busy lately.

I got a call from Troy early the next morning. “Hey Red. Rumor is an old liquor store is being used as a Carnales hide out . . . why don’t you go over there and check it out?” 

“Why can’t you do it?” I asked with a yawn rolling over and off the bed with a loud thump. “Oww, shit.” 

“Because that’s your job. My job is to get the info.” Troy said sounding a bit pissed.

“Whatever, I’ll get to it in about an hour.” I said with a sigh, closing the phone and throwing it on the bed.

“You ok Red?” Johnny asked from the doorway. 

“Just fucking peachy.” I said standing up off the floor and walked to the bathroom. It wasn’t until I was in the bathroom with the room locked that I realized I was only wearing my black and purple lace bra and panty set. 

I took a quick shower, and when I got out and dried off I slipped on one of Johnny’s button up’s I had left in the bathroom, and went to get clean clothes. “So what was the call about?” Johnny asked from my bed, causing me to jump. 

“Troy thinks he found a Carnales hide out, wants me to check it out and clear out the trash.” I said grabbing jeans and a cami out of the drawers. 

“I could help you out if you want.” Johnny said from right behind me causing me to spin around to look at him, but I tripped over my feet and fell into his chest, the hand I was using to hold his shirt closed now planted on his chest. 

“If you want to tag along you can.” I said quickly closing the shirt again before going over to the small dresser to pick out some underclothes. 

“I think I will.” He said walking over to look in the drawer. “That one looks like a nice choice.” He said pointing at a Saints purple satin set. I grabbed the set out and walked back to the bathroom to get dressed, and when I came back of Johnny offered me a to-go cup of coffee. 

“Thanks.” I said taking the cup from him before going into his room, and grabbing a purple satin over shirt. I slipped it on, and when I looked up Johnny was watching me with a raised brow, and I felt myself start to blush. 

“This how you been getting my clothes?” He asked, looking me over, and I nodded. 

“You’re normally asleep or gone when I come get it though. Am I in trouble?” I asked looking up at him through my lashes, and I watched him sigh.

“Nah, I don’t mind, but I guess I should warn you, I sleep naked.” He said before walking out. I followed him out and grabbed my knife out of the kitchen cupboard strapping it to my waist before tucking my pair Vice 9 into the back of my jeans, Johnny’s shirt effectively blocking them from view. I grabbed the small purse I kept extra ammo in, and followed Johnny out of the apartment. 

“So where’s this place supposed to be?” Johnny asked starting his car. 

“All Troy said was to old liquor store nearby.” I said with a frown.

“This’d be the place.” Johnny said pointing out an old boarded up liquor store. 

“Drive around the block a couple times.” I said chewing on my thumbnail nervously. 

“Sure thing.” Johnny said driving around. When we got to the opposite side of the block I noticed a car sitting near the backdoor, and on the second time around I pointed to the back lot. 

I pointed to the door, and then the car making my thoughts clear in a few words. “Back door, escape car. I think we should park here and walk around.” 

“Good idea.” Johnny said pulling the venom up behind the dumpster so it wasn’t readily visible. He grabbed a couple guns and grenades out of the trunk before locking up and walking with me around the building. When we got to the front Johnny waved for me to kick in the door. I looked at it from a moment before reaching out and twisting the handle letting the door swing open. 

I pulled both of my Vice 9s out and slid into the building with Johnny following closely behind me. We made short work of the Carnales in the front room, and the hallway, but when we reached the back room I saw a member go running out the back door. “We got a runner Johnny.” I yelled helping him pick off the last few before running out the back door, and over to the venom. 

The chase didn’t last very long before the Carnales member made a wrong turn, and ended up at a dead end with the river on one side of him, houses on the other, a bridge in front of him, and us blocking his path back. He got out of his car and tried to make a run for it, but I quickly shot him down. 

“Nice shot.” Johnny said after the guy’s brains flew everywhere. 

“Thanks.” It didn’t take us long after that to reach the church. 

When Johnny walked into the church, I walked over to Friendly Fire and got some more ammo which turned out to be a good thing, because when I came back out Julius waved me over to where He, Troy and Hayden were standing. “What’s up?” I asked walking over. 

“I got a tip that there’s a turf was goin’ on right now at the docks in Harrowgate. If we crash their party, we can take all those sons of bitches out at once.” Troy said getting into a convertible Compton. “By the way, you’re driving.” He said, and I walked over to the driver side getting in. Julius sat in the passenger seat and Hayden slid in behind me. 

“Hope you’re strapped, playa, cause we’re about to go in hard.” Julius said, and I ignored the sexual innuendo thinking it was just a slip of the tongue until Troy spoke up a few minutes later.

“I ain’t gonna lie to you, when we go in there it’s gonna get rough. Julius, you sure it’s cool we take this kid instead of Johnny?” When I caught the slip this time I glance at Julius from the corner of my eye and saw Julius was watching me for a reaction. 

“Troy, you worry too much, the kid’ll be fine.” Julius said turning his attention away from me. A few moments later we pulled up to the docks and got out. 

“Don’t worry playa, you stick with Troy and me and you’ll be fine.” Julius said, but the kid already took off, and I quickly took off after him, covering his ass when he went in to fast. We were almost to the end of the first warehouse when I caught up to Hayden, and I heard a car come screeching in our direction. I quickly grabbed the back of Hayden’s shirt and drug him behind the cover of some crates as a car drove into a Vice King car that was on fire causing both to explode. After that we finished off the last members.

“The cops are comin’ man, we gotta lose ‘em.” Troy said when he and Julius caught up. 

“Let’s go them.” I said jumping into a Vice King car that was still in one piece. It didn’t take us to long before we managed to lose the police. It was actually surprisingly simple. I drove to the train tracks and followed them to a tunnel, and waited about ten minutes until I heard the police move on. 

“Alright we lost ‘em. Drop me and Julius off at the church.” Troy said and I quickly made my way back to the church.

I was sitting on the couch in Johnny’s office playing on my phone when a text came through to my phone. “We did it playa . . . Saints Row is ours again. Don’t think I’m finished with you yet though. I’m holding a meeting at the church. Swing by this afternoon around 3.”

“Guess I’ll stick around here until the meeting if you don’t mind.” I said to Johnny who was going over some Vice King shit Dex had given him.

“I don’t mind. Give’s me something to look at besides with shit.” Johnny joked, and I laughed.

Three’o’clock rolled around and I walked out to the main church room with Johnny. There were a couple dozen people, mostly men, scattered around the room, and I stayed by Johnny’s side feeling extremely uncomfortable. When Johnny realized this he wrapped an arm around my shoulders pulling me close to him. 

I watched a few moments later as Julius walked out to stand on a small raised platform at the head of the church. “Listen up people, I got some serious shit to discuss.” Julius said and the crew immediately quit talking. “Yeah, we cleared out the Row. You think for a second that’s gonna stop ‘em? Unless we wipe all these muthafucka out they’re gonna keep comin’, and they ain’t gonna be happy . . . it ain’t gonna be settled until the Carnales, the Rollerz, and the Vice Kings ain’t nothin’ but a memory.” He said before pausing to let that sink in. “Dex you get the Carnales. Ever since they hooked up with the Columbians it’s like they own this town, and with that drug money rollin’ in we can’t compete. Be smart how you move against ‘em. The Lopez family been runnin’ that gang for thirty years, there’s a reason they’re still around.” 

“Got it.” Dex said nodding his head. 

“Troy you dealin’ with the Vice Kings.” Julius said and I watched Troy tense. 

“Not a chance.” Troy said shaking his head. 

“Fuck you say?” Julius asked and I could tell he was a bit pissed.

“Anyone but them.” Troy said and I watched understanding cross Julius’ features.

“You scared of goin’ against Benjamin King?” Julius asked, but it seemed to be more of a statement and the next thing I knew Johnny was stepping forward.

“Man, fuck that, I’ll take King out.” Johnny said.

“Johnny, it’s not that simple.” Julius said sounding a bit exasperated.

“Bullets still kill muthafucka’s right, doesn’t get much simpler than that.” Johnny said with a shrug and Julius turned to Dex.

“Keep an eye on ya boy.” Julius said to Dex. 

“I don’t need a fuckin’ babysitter Julius.” Johnny said sounding irritated.

“Keep an eye on ya boy.” Julius repeated, and Dex broke in with another question to avoid disaster.

“Who’s got the Rollerz?” he asked looking around.

“I do.” Lin said from the doorway. I watched as she walked to the front.

“Lin? The fuck you wearin’ blue for?” Johnny asked sounding a bit pissed.

“I asked Lin to hook up with the Rollerz. We don’t know much about these fuckers, so I wanted one of us on the inside.” Julius replied.

“I didn’t know the Rollerz pimped hos.” One of Jared’s friends piped up. I couldn’t stop the smile that crossed my face when Lin knocked him out with one punch.

“Any other comments?” Lin asked looking around.

“Yeah.” Johnny piped up. “When you punch, don’t throw your shoulder so much.”

“Shut up Johnny.” Lin scoffed.

“Hey, I’m just sayin’.” Johnny responded lifting his hands in surrender before resting his arm around my waist again. I watched Lin’s eyes settle on his hand before she glanced up at my face. She was about to say something else when Julius cut her off. 

“Once we’re done here go talk to one of these guys, they’ll have somethin’ for you to do. It’s our time now, let’s get this shit started.” Julius finished, and everyone gathered around Dex, Johnny, and Lin for jobs. 

The next few days passed rather uneventfully. I mainly drove around dropping any gang member not flying our flag, and taking their money. I was currently sitting at Johnny’s kitchen table going through the classifieds for some cheap real estate. I had been sitting there for about an hour when Johnny came out of his bedroom. “Fuck you doing up?” Johnny asked stumbling over to the coffee pot.

“Couldn’t sleep.” I said crossing out another ad, it was too far away from the church. 

“So what are you doing?” he asked looking over the paper. 

“Looking for my own place, want to stay in our territory though so there aren’t really many options.” I said with a sigh crossing out yet another ad. 

“You don’t have to do that, I don’t mind you being here.” 

“Yes I do. People are starting to get the wrong idea about us.” 

“Fuck you talking about?” Johnny asked setting down his coffee cup.

I sighed and ran a hand over my face before I looked back up at him. “People think we’re fucking because I’m living here.” 

“So.” Johnny said with a shrug, as he took another drink of his coffee.

“So? That’s all you’ve got to say.”

“Who the fuck cares what they think?” Johnny said blowing off what I said.

“I fucking care. I’m not gonna have people treating me like I’m made of glass because they’re fucking scared of pissing you off, and I ain’t having anyone attribute any success I might achieve to you, and besides that, do you know how many people have tracked me down in the last twenty four hours to try to get me to give ‘em a good word to pass on to you. It’s fucking ridiculous.” I said. My voice rising until I was screaming before I grabbed the paper and stormed out the door.

I had just purchased a small hole in the wall apartment. The living room, kitchen and bedroom were all one room. It had a tiny bathroom and a small closet. I sat down on one of the kitchen chairs and was just starting to relax when I realized how much of a bitch I was to Johnny before I left. As I paced back and forth in my new apartment trying to think of a way to make it up to him an idea suddenly struck. I grabbed some of my left over cash, and the keys to the car I jacked and drove to the nearest friendly fire. 

I walked into the church with a wrapped package under one arm, and a bag of Freckle Bitches in the other. I leaned the package against the wall just inside his office before walking all the way in. When my eyes settled on him I found him leaning back in his chair with his feet propped up on the table. “Hey Johnny.” 

“Hey.” He said not even looking over at me. 

“Sorry for being such a bitch earlier, haven’t been sleeping well lately.” 

“Whatever.” 

“I brought Freckle Bitches.” 

He glanced over briefly before going back to staring at the ceiling. “Freckle Bitches ain’t gettin’ you out of this one.”

“Didn’t really think it would.” I said rubbing the back of my neck before going to grab the package. “That’s why I got this for you to.” I said placing the box on the table in front of him. After placing it on the desk I spun around one of the chairs and sat down resting my forearms across the back. I watched as he glanced at it a couple times without moving until I turned it a bit so he could see the Friendly Fire sticker. 

“What is it?” He finally asked setting the chair down on all fours to grab a burger and a thing of fries out of the bag. 

“Open it and find out.” I said pulling my own burger and fries out handing him his big swallow. I watched as he looked at it apprehensively once more before peeling the paper off to reveal a white box. Opening the box he revealing a Platinum AS12 Riot shotgun with a piece of masking tape that wrapped from one side of the stock, around the butt and to the other side. 

“You got me a shotgun that needs to be held together by tape.” He said looking up at me with a raised eyebrow. 

“Of course not.” I said getting up and walking over to stand beside him. I slid my hand between his arms, causing him to look at me strangely. I reached for the end of the tape that was currently facing down, and slowly peeled the tape off. “See, still in one piece.” I said with a small smile holding up the tape, and when he looked down I saw his mouth hang open, whatever smart ass comment he was going to say still stuck in his throat. His name was engraved on both sides of the stock of the gun in Saints purple, with a fleur-de-lis beside it. 

“Fucking beautiful.” He said caressing the gun before he set it down on the table, and tugged me down on to his lap wrapping his arms around me. “Thanks Red.” 

“You’re welcome. I’m sorry for being a bitch.” I said wrapping my arms around him to. 

“You weren’t that much of a bitch.” 

“Yeah I was. I yelled at you for something you had no control over.” 

“It’s ok.” Johnny said rubbing my back, and a few moments later Dex walked in.

“So, you guys fuckin’?” Dex asked walking over to lean against the wall. 

“No.” Johnny replied before turning his attention to me. “Why don’t you go lay down on the couch? I’ll wake you up before I leave the room.” Johnny said giving me a light push in the direction of the couch and I went to lay down. 

I hadn’t been laying there long when Hayden walked in. 

“Take a seat, man.” Johnny said, and I glanced over to see him sitting much the way I was earlier. “So you’re Julius’ new boy huh? You don’t look like much. Then again, I don’t look like I have an eight-inch cock, so I guess we’re both full of surprises. The Vice Kings are named after one guy; Benjamin King. That shit don’t happen unless you’re a professional or a bad ass, and in King’s case he’s both.” 

Just as he finished saying that his phone started to ring, and I heard him shift around until he pulled his phone out. “Hold up, I gotta take this. Aisha, what a pleasant fucking surprise. Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down.” He said and pulled the phone away from his ear when she started screaming loud enough I could hear her. I only caught a few words before I sat up. “Ok that’s not slower that’s louder.” Johnny said obviously not catching what I had. “Shit, where’s she headed? Don’t worry, I got this.”

“I’m gonna go get the car.” I said leaving the room before they could try to stop me. 

Hayden slid into the passenger seat a few minutes later, and started pointing directions until a yellow sedan pulled out in front of us. I fell back a bit following at a distance and watched as it pulled up by an old warehouse. I watched as a Vice King pulled a dark skinned female out of the passenger seat and lead her into the warehouse at gunpoint. 

“That’s gonna be Aisha’s sister there. There’s no telling how many other girls there are in that warehouse.” I told Hayden circling the block to make sure there weren’t any other escape points. “We need to go in there and kill everyone as quickly as possible and get those girls out.” I said pulling up to a stop near the door. 

We walked over to the door and I opened it, and he took the first shot killing the man at the end of the hall before going in with me to back him up. I was a bit surprised that they only had five people guarding the girls, that’s what made me realize they had probably been doing this for a while and were getting overconfident. Just the thought of the other girls this had happened to made my stomach turn.

I walked over to the only other door in the place and knocked on the door. “You girls ok in there?” I asked and heard a chorus of yes’.” 

“The guy with the key went to Tee’N’Ay.” One of the girls called from inside, and when Hayden went to go to Tee’N’Ay for the key I stopped him. 

“Move away from the door, to the left side of the room.” I said bringing my gun up. “You in place?” I called when I heard the movement stop.” 

“Yeah.” I heard one of the girl’s call, and I shot at the lock a couple times until it broke. I opened the door and ushered the girls out. 

“Let’s go, we need to get back to the church before reinforcements come.” I said leading the girls back out to the car with Hayden bringing up the rear. It didn’t take long for us to make it back to the church, and when we got there I lead Aisha’s sister back to Johnny’s office leaving the others to do as they wished.

“Your sister is already on the way here.” Johnny said as he glanced up. I must have had a strange look on my face because he gestured for me to come over to him. “What’s up?” 

“They had two other girls there besides her, and security sucked. How long have they been doing this Johnny?” I asked quietly.

“She’s the sixth girl that we know of.” Johnny replied pulling me against his chest. I fell asleep there as we waited for Aisha to show.


	7. Chapter 7

I woke with a start as Aisha came into the room. “God, you haven’t changed at all, have you?” She scoffed glaring at me where I rested in Johnny’s lap.

“Not all of us have a couple million dollars to make changes.” Johnny retorted missing that she was talking about me.

“It’s always the same shit with you.” Aisha yelled.

“Oh, here we go again.” Johnny sighed like they’ve had this fight before.

“What did you want me to do? Did you expect me not to take my shot?” 

“No, I expected you to remember where you came from.” Johnny replied, and I heard what he left unsaid. ‘I expected you to remember me.’

“Oh, fuck you Johnny.” Aisha scoffed turning her back on him.

“Fuck me? Fuck you! You’re the one who ran off to be famous. The only time you remember who we are is when you want something.” Johnny said as Hayden walked in.

“Bad timing man.” I said with a yawn, but Johnny and Aisha completely ignored me.

“My sister was kidnapped!” Aisha exclaimed looking shocked.

“And I bought her back didn’t I?” Johnny asked.

“No, they did.” Aisha said pointing to me and Hayden. 

“Bullshit, I told him to do it.” Johnny said sitting upright, and shifting me so I was sitting on his lap instead of laying across it. “No offense.” He said to Hayden who just shrugged. 

“Look, if you’re gonna help me, help me, but don’t you dare try to hold it over me.”

“Fine.” Johnny yelled.

“Fine.” Aisha yelled back.

“Fine.” Johnny said one last time, just so he could get in the last word causing me to giggle. 

Johnny sighed as Aisha took a seat and turned to Hayden. “Relax man. I’d like you to meet Saint’s Row’s claim to fame. This . . . is Aisha, and tonight we’re gonna kill her.” Johnny said and I looked up at him shocked.

“He’s being melodramatic.” Aisha sighed. “See, I’m signed with Kingdom Come Records.” Aisha started before Johnny cut in.

“And it’s no secret that the label is owned by the Vice Kings.”

“But the real deal is that once you’re in you can’t get out.” Aisha continued. “They rip you off left and right, and extort you to stay signed. I’ve talked to Johnny and he said that you might be willing to help me.” She finished looking between me and Hayden.

“Check it out.” Johnny said. “Eesh has a recording session in a few minutes. That’s when we make her disappear, and give the Vice Kings a nice “Fuck you” while we’re at it. I want you to take Aisha to her session, but on the way stop at the chop shop to have your ride loaded up with some C4. Park the car at the studio and get the hell outta there. Eesh, make sure someone sees you before you jump out.” He finished, and I got up to go with Hayden and Aisha. 

“Johnny, I really appreciate-.” Aisha started.

“Whatever, I was gonna blow that place up anyway.” Johnny said waving Aisha away. We went out to the car and I drove to On The Rag. 

“What are we doing here?” Aisha said as I got out and waved her after me. 

“Be back in fifteen.” I said to Hayden before I lead Aisha inside. “Small change of plans.” I said pulling an outfit identical to Aisha’s off the rack. I had my skin sprayed the same color as hers and put on the clothes finding a wig that I had Aisha style like hers. “Find something to wear, you’re not Aisha anymore. I’m gonna go inside instead of you.” I said with a sigh, and when we got back out to the car Hayden did a quick double take. 

“Johnny’s not gonna like this.” He said causing me to look at him shocked. 

“Johnny won’t know till it’s done.” I said with a shrug. “Besides he’s not my keeper.” I said looking out the window as we pulled up to Samson’s garage and he loaded the car with explosives. 

“Alright man, you ain’t got a lot of time, so hurry.” He said before leaning in the window. “One more thing. That shit in your car ain’t exactly stable. I wouldn’t hit anything if I were you.” He said and when we backed out I noticed a van parked on the side of the road. 

“Oh god, him again?” Aisha sighed and I gave her a strange look. “He’s this crazy stalker fan, complete nut.” Aisha said and I stepped out of the car and walked over to the driver side door of the van. I opened the door and sunk the blade of my knife in his chest before pulling it back out and wiped it on his pants. I put the knife back in its sheath and got back in the car. 

“Let’s go.” I said, and we quickly made our way to Kingdom Come Records while Aisha gave me escape route instructions. 

I walked in the front door and the guy at the front desk spoke up. “Running a little late today?” he asked looking up at me.

“Hey now, you gotta look good to sound good.” I said walking in the direction of the recording studio and exit. 

“Want me to let ‘em know you’re in?” The guy asked.

“Would you do that for me?” I asked with my back against the door now. 

I watched him pick up the phone and heard, “She’s here Mr. Williams.” as the door closed behind me. I quickly went to the room Aisha normally recorded in, and dropped the hat and jacket in the room just outside the booth before running for the exit. 

I was about a hundred feet away went the building blew up, the shockwave sent me flying. My ears were ringing and I couldn’t hear anything else as I stood up. I quickly pulled off the wig before making my way toward where we stashed the rest of my clothes. I checked my phone on the way there to see that it had shattered when I hit the ground. I could feel blood running down my face, and I had a couple cuts on my arms and legs. I reached my clothes, and washed off the fake tan in the hazard shower that was nearby before putting my clothes back on. I jacked one of the cars in a nearby carpark, and slowly made my way back to the church. I arrived in the church just in time to hear Johnny screaming at someone.

“What the fuck do you mean she went in that building? Where the hell is she?” 

“I don’t know, we tried to call her but her phone goes straight to voicemail. The bomb went off sooner than expected. We don’t know if she made it out.” Aisha was saying.

“Of course I made it out.” I said walking into the room. “You didn’t really think a silly little bomb could take care of me did you.” I said with a smile, and when I seen their concerned looks I remembered the blood on my face. “Nothing serious, just a small cut.” I said waving off the looks of concern as I sank down on the couch. 

“What the fuck happened out there?” Johnny asked slamming his hands down on the table. 

“I went in instead of Aisha, they told Williams she was there, I ran out the back door, got about a hundred yards away and boom. Sent me flying a few feet, and I got back here as soon as I could.” I said with a shrug. “She would have probably still been in there as chatty as she is.” I said with a small smile. 

“Now what?” Aisha asked.

“Now we wait.” I said turning on the radio before slumping down on the couch. 

As we sat there waiting for the broadcast Johnny came over to cut how bad my cuts were, and then sent Hayden for some medical supplies. Lin came walking in a few minutes later with a bowl of water and Hayden was trailing behind her with the rest of the things Johnny had asked for. 

“Johnny, what the fuck?” Lin said handing him the bowl of hot water as she looked me over.

“Don’t look at me, this was not my fucking plan.” Johnny growled.

“No, your plan would have had Aisha in this position, or worse.” I shot back and he just scowled at me. “Don’t you give me that fucking look. You know I’m right.” 

“You’re still wearing my boots.” Aisha piped in finally seeing the white boots peeking out of the bottom of the sweats I put on. 

“I thought your boots were white.” Lin said looking down at the red and white streaks on the boots.

“They are.” Aisha replied, and the next thing I knew Johnny was cutting the pant leg off to see how back the damage was. When my leg was exposed Aisha turned to the trashcan and started retching. Looking down I saw the piece of metal that was embedded in the boot of my right leg and the blood that soaked the boot below it. 

“Like I said, if I didn’t step in your plan would have failed.” I said before reaching down to pull the metal out. Johnny grabbed my hand just before I could. I raised an eyebrow as Johnny stood up and pulled off his belt. 

He put it around my thigh and pulled it tight before handing the end to Hayden, who seemed to be the only one that didn’t go pale at the sight of my wound. “Hold this tight.” Johnny said before grabbing the edge of the metal. He slowly pulled the metal out and I bit my lip to keep from crying out. I felt his hands run over the rest of the boot before he pulled it off. Aisha started gagging again, and Johnny snapped at her. “If you can’t fucking handle it go in the other room.” 

“Be nice Johnny.” I said putting my hand over his when I saw it shaking. “I’ll be just fine. Trust me, this is nothing,” I said with a small smile, but I saw Aisha step to where she couldn’t see anyway. 

“Right, Lin I need that cloth.” He said after taking a deep breath. As he started to clean it he saw my bit my lip again. “Give her something to bite on before she bites through her lip.” He growled as he wiped more blood away. 

“Here.” Aisha said handing me a leather bit from her purse. Everyone gave her various confounded looks before Lin reached out to take it, quickly fastening it on. When Johnny started digging around in the wound to make sure there was nothing left in it I was extremely glad for the bit even if I was still a bit disgusted. Once it was clean it didn’t take long before Johnny had it sewed up. The bit was removed moments later. 

Johnny was in the midst of sewing up the cut on my head, which was worse than I thought, when the news theme song came on. 

“Jack Armstrong in the newsroom. Er, we are just receiving word of a disaster at . . . one moment . . . the location is just coming to us, what do we have? . . . It is the Kingdom Come Records building downtown . . . Apparently some sort of massive explosion has occurred . . . I’m sorry, what’s that? . . . We have fire and rescue, they’re on their way. We so not have many details at this time, but we do know that the force of the explosion was immense as the building was leveled. We are following this story closely here in the newsroom – we will bring you details as they occur. I’m Jack Armstrong.” 

It wasn’t until a few hours later that we heard the news we had been waiting for. “Jack Armstrong in the newsroom. This just in, it has been reported by Mr. Warren Williams that the famous R&B singer Aisha was in the building at the time of the explosion. It is thought that she was close to the point of explosion as no body has yet been found, but the tattered remains of her hat and jacket was found in the room just outside the booth she was scheduled to use. I’m Jack Armstrong.”

“Looks like we pulled it off.” I said with a small chuckle before Johnny stuck me with the needle again.


	8. Chapter 8

It had been three days since the bombing of Kingdom Come Records and I was ready to go stir crazy. I had been confined to my apartment until my leg was healed again. I couldn’t do anything that required walking, or driving or running, it was driving me nuts. Finally I texted Hayden. 

Red: Please tell me you know of something I can do. I’m going insane.

Hayden: I got something that might work. I’ll pick you up in a few. 

I grabbed a pair of my jeans and cut them off into shorts because the jeans irritated the bandages. I slipped on a halter top and one of Johnny’s button ups before grabbing my guns and extra ammo. I slipped on my tennis shoes and was working my way down the stairs when Hayden got there. When he saw I was struggling with the stairs he picked me up and didn’t put me down again until I was in the passenger seat of the car. He drove out to Fox Drive and dropped me off, before pointing toward the gate of a junkyard, and driving off. 

I walked in to see a tall red headed man with dread locks and colorful pants talking to a guy in jeans and a black jacket, he had on a black hat and sunglasses.

*bang* “YOU THINK YOU CAN *bang* STEAL FROM ME?” *bang* The red head yelled shooting the other. “YOU THINK YOU CAN FUCKING *bang* ROB ME?! YOU STUPID *bang* FUCKING *bang* BACKSTABBING *bang* PIECE *bang* OF SHIT!” He yelled before he noticed me standing there. He turned away from the body to face me. “Hey, what’s up, I’m Tobias. Sorry ‘bout the mess. Billy here thought it would be a good idea to skim off the top, and well *bang*, let’s just say he was wrong. Are you lookin’ for work?” he asked looking me over and I nodded. “Billy used to watch me back on deliveries, but I don’t think he’s gonna make it in today. You make sure my deals go smoothly, I cut you in on the action. . . whaddya say?” 

“What exactly is it that you want me to do?” I asked folding my arms over my chest. 

“You come out here looking for work and don’t know what you’re getting into?” Tobias asked raising an eyebrow. 

“Asked a friend for a job that wouldn’t get my ass reamed. He doesn’t talk much.”

“You must be talking about that new guy with the Saints. He’s good. All you gotta do is sit in the passenger seat and shoot anyone who tries to kill us. I’ll supply guns and ammo.” Tobias explained and I let a smile slip onto my face. 

“Now that sounds like my kind of job.” I said, and he started leading me over to his van. “My first job with the Saints was running whores and their johns around Stilwater, talking about fucked up.” I said with a sigh. “Glad Hayden has more common sense than that.”

Once we were in the van Tobias handed me a .44 Shepherd. “Careful with her, she kicks like a bitch. The bag on the floor there is extra ammo.” He said and a few minutes later we pulled up at the first stop. Everything was going great until a red car drove by on the road. I heard the car hit the brakes and it came back into view moments later. When I realized it was coming our way I quickly pulled out the Shepherd and fired two shots killing the driver and the passenger. When Tobias got back in the car he gave me a surprised look before driving to the sight of the next deal. 

The rest of my day consisted of shooting up Carnales with Tobias, and every so often he’d give me a different weapon. We had stopped for a break to get something to eat when he told me I could open the case that was in the back. When I opened the case I saw a beautiful platinum rocket launcher and moments later I launched myself at Tobias glad that he had manage to stay standing. “Where have you been all my life?” I joked pulling back to look at him. 

“If I knew it was gonna have this kind of reaction I would have given that to ya first and just taken you home.” Tobias joked. I looked around to see a couple people staring at us, and froze when my eyes met Johnny’s.

“I think we should go now.” I said quickly ducking back into the van. I watched Tobias turn and when he spotted Johnny he waved.

“Hey man.” Tobias said as Johnny walked over.

“Hey Tobias, what’cha got her doin’.” Johnny asked as he made it to the van. 

“She’s on the gun’s man. Just introduced her to Betty.” Tobias said and I watched the grin cross Johnny’s face. “Why, what’s up?” 

“She’s supposed to be on house arrest. Got her leg cut wide open the other day.” 

“If it’s just her leg she’ll be fine with me man. This is the first time she’s even left the passenger seat.” 

“How long she been with you?” 

“Since around ten I think.” 

“So you made Hayden late.” Johnny said to me with a raised eyebrow. 

“I just asked for something to do. He could have given me instructions on how to get there, but he decided to take me instead.” I said with a shrug.

“We’ll talk when you get home.” Johnny said before turning back to Tobias. I stuck my tongue out at Johnny before plopping back into the passenger seat to look over the RPG. 

I heard Tobias chuckled before he spoke again. “You got your hands full with that one man.” He said before going around the front of the van.

“You have no idea. Bring her back to my place when you’re done with her, if you don’t mind.”

“Sure thing man.” Tobias said getting into the driver seat. I saw him shake his head at me when he saw me pouting in the passenger seat. As soon as Johnny was out of sight I straightened back up, and ran my hands over the rocket launcher again smiling. 

“Got his hands full huh?” I questioned as he drove back toward the factories district. 

“Sure does. What was with the pouting?” he asked glancing over at me. 

“Simple, he won’t bitch at me as much when you take me home.” I said with a smile as Tobias shook his head at me. 

We had only just made it into the Factory district before the first Carnales car was on our ass. I slipped on the harness that was attached just above the door before I moved to sit on the window sill and brought the rocket launcher around to aim at one of the cars. I pulled the trigger and felt the kick try to throw me out of the car, and I was glad for the harness. I watched as the rocket hit the car I aimed for blowing it back into the car just behind it causing that car to blow as well. “Fuck yeah!” I yelled ducking back in the car to reload. “I fucking love this thing, you think I can marry it.” I asked before ducking back out the window. I could hear Tobias laughing inside the car just before I fired again. After we were finished with this set of deals Tobias drove over to a friendly fire to get the heat off us, and then drove over to Johnny’s. He parked behind Johnny’s Venom before getting out and coming over to my side of the car. I watched him grab a small bag and the case for Betty before he opened my door. 

“Come on, I’ll take you up.” Tobias said, and I wrapped my legs around his waist, and my arms around his neck, so I was on his back piggy back style. 

“You want me to hold something?” I asked once I was sure I wasn’t going to slip. 

“Sure.” He said before letting me take the RPG case and the small bag. “Special delivery.” He called once we reached the door for Johnny’s apartment, causing me to giggle. A moment later Johnny opened the door, and raise an eyebrow at us before stepping aside. 

Tobias walked in and set me down on the counter before turning to talk to Johnny for a few minutes. “Girls a good shot man. I think this is the first time my vans come back with only a few holes.” I heard Tobias say, and I could tell he was getting ready to leave. 

“Don’t forget Betty.” I called out to Tobias who poked his head back in the room.

“Consider yourself married. Your pay is in the other bag.” He said before leaving me sitting there stunned. Johnny walked into the kitchen a minute later while I was still sitting there stunned. 

“What just happened?” I asked my eyes darting to Johnny. 

“Simple, you’re Betty’s new owner.” Johnny said walking over to take the case away from me. He set it on the floor nearby before he started to remove the bandage on my leg. After seeing that I hadn’t hurt the cut any he cleaned and re-bandaged it. “Tobias likes your work, so I guess as long as you’re careful you can keep working with him until your healed up.” He said helping me down off the counter. “The shorts look nice on ya to.” He said smacking my ass as I went toward the bathroom.

“Hey, hands off.” I said jumping away from him. 

“Next time you wanna go out you call me.” He called after me.

“But you would have said no.” I countered before closing the bathroom door and locking it. I wrapped the bandage to make sure it wouldn’t get wet before stripping for a shower. I finished my shower quickly before going out to join Johnny on the couch to see he was watching the news. I lay down on the couch putting my head in his lap as we watched. 

“And in other news, the factory district was terrorized today by a couple in a hippy van.   
Tonight the streets are littered with the bodies of multiple members of the Los Carnales. Some cars were found blown to pieces in the road. The total body count at the moment is in the upper 80s and many of Stilwaters finest were caught in the crossfire.” The news continued to drone on and on about everything and anything that had happened that day. 

“Hippy van? Bet Tobias just loved that one.” I said with a laugh. 

“Upper 80s?” Johnny asked with a raised eyebrow, and a smirk on his face. “At that rate we could just send you and Tobias out and we’d have Stilwater in our possession in no time.” I gave a nod and couldn’t stop the yawn that made its presence known. “Guess I should get you to bed, you’ve had a long day.” Johnny said shutting off the tv and slipping off the couch. He picked me up turning, and took me to my room shutting lights off on the way. 

“Will you stay with me tonight.” I asked as we made it to my room. “Something doesn’t feel right.” I said frowning, and he nodded setting me down on the bed before stripping down to his boxers. “When are you gonna take me to blow stuff up like you promised?” I asked pouting, but he chuckled as a yawn ruined the effect. 

“As soon as your all healed up.” Johnny said sliding into bed next to me. I rolled over so I was resting against his chest and soon fell asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to say that I know absolutely nothing about drugs so if I reference a wrong drug somewhere please let me know so I can fix it.

It was still dark out when something woke me up. I slid my hand under the pillow closing my fingers around the handle of the .44 Shepherd Tobias had given me earlier. I flipped off the safety and waited to heard where the intruder was. As soon as I heard the noise again I quickly rolled over bringing the gun up. Johnny grabbed my arm and pulled it away from the target just as I pulled the trigger. The lights came on a moment later, and I heard someone swearing at the foot of the bed. I started to scream as arms wrapped around me from behind to stop me from going after the person I shot at. 

“Get the fuck out.” I heard someone yell before the other two left the room, and it was just me and the person behind me left. “Come on Red you come back to me. Focus on me, and breath with me.” The man said as I continued to fight against him. “Come on, focus on me. You can get through this. Breath with me, just breath with me.” He said and I could feel my body starting to listen. “Come on Red, your almost there.” He said and I started to recognize Johnny’s voice through the fog that had invaded my brain. 

“Johnny?” I asked full of confusion.

“I’m right here Red. You’re ok now.” He said allowing me to bury my face in his chest as he ran his hand through my hair.

“What happened? I don’t remember.” I said my voice shaking.

“Dex and Troy thought it would be a good idea to sneak in here. You tried to shoot Troy.” Johnny said rocking me back and forth. 

“Is he ok?” I asked looking up at him.

“Not sure, he’s still alive so I guess that’s something.” Johnny said with a shrug before calling the guys back in. 

“Hey, sorry man. She alright?” Dex asked as he walked in.

“She will be. She’s still a bit shaken up.” Johnny said rubbing a hand over my back. “How bad is it?” he asked and I was confused for a minute until Troy spoke up. 

“Just a graze.” He said with a shrug. The guys talked for a few more minutes when I got that strange feeling again. I stood up and walked over to the window looking for the thing that was off, and when I finally saw what it was I reached for my gun only to find it wasn’t there. “What is it?” Troy asked noticing the way I started shaking again when I couldn’t find my gun. I turned to look at him, and when I saw his gun I walked over and took it from him. The moment I moved away from the window a bullet hit where I had just been standing, and I quickly moved back over with Troy’s gun in hand and emptied the clip into the shadows of the alley hoping to hit him. When the gun started clicking telling me it was empty I let it fall uselessly to the floor, and fell to my knees, shaking and crying. 

“The fuck was that?” Dex asked to no one in particular and got no answer in response. I could feel the glass from the window cutting into my skin even as Troy walked over and picked me up out of it. As soon as I was out of the glass he handed me over to Johnny, and we made our way into the living room. 

“He was out there Johnny. He was watching.” I whispered into his chest and felt him tense up. 

“Call for back up, have ‘em sweep the area.” Johnny said before setting me down on the couch and walking back out of the room. Dex pulled out his phone to make the call. Johnny returned a moment later with a first aid kit. 

I sat back on the couch and let Dex clean the glass from my cuts, while Johnny explained what was going on and who they were looking for to the gang, Dex cleaned up and bandaged Troy’s arm when he was finished with me.

About an hour later the Saints returned. “We found some fresh blood in the alley, but it only goes as far as the other side. He must have had a car waiting for him there.” The saint said to Johnny. 

“He did. It was purple. I couldn’t tell the make or model though. It was purple, Saints purple.” I said with a shake of my head. “Saint’s purple?” I questioned myself before walking to the bathroom where I splashed cold water on my face. “Pull yourself together Red. You’re losing it.” I told my reflection in the mirror. I shook my head one more time trying to get rid of the demons that invaded my mind before squaring my shoulders, and going to my room to get dressed for the day. I dressed in a pair of cut off shorts and a purple halter top with my combat boots. I had my Vice 9s tucked in the back of my jeans and the .44 Shepherd in a thigh holster. Extra ammo was in a medium size purple purse that hung across my body with a shoulder strap and my dagger was in a hip sheath.

“You sure she shouldn’t be seeing a psych doc.” I heard Troy ask but didn’t wait for a response to come. 

“Everyone back on fucking track, what was so important that you had to sneak into my bedroom at three ‘o’clock in the fucking morning.” I snapped walking into the living room. 

“Simple, I got a lead on where the Los Carnales cut all their shit.” Troy said as Dex laid a map out on the table.

“The Carnales.” Dex and I said at the same time.

“What?” Troy said looking at us confused. 

“Rio Grande River, Jesus.” Dex said and when Troy still looked confused I spoke up.

“Ok listen up ‘cause I’m only gonna explain this once, and if I hear to say The Los again I’ll fucking cut you. It’s either The Carnales or Los Carnales. Spanish 101 tells you that Los means The. Got it memorized.” I snapped and Troy nodded quickly as I got a strange look from Johnny. “And next time your gonna fucking wake me up bring me some coffee.” I snapped getting up and going into the kitchen.

“What the fucks her problem man?” Dex asked after the kitchen door closed behind me. 

“She has mood swings, the last one got me an engraved Platinum AS12 Riot shotgun and Freckle Bitches.” Johnny said. I looked around the kitchen for a minute and realized someone had decided to make coffee so I grabbed a to go cup and filled it to the top. After the first swallow I felt loads better, and walked out to join the human population again as Troy and Dex were discussing plans. 

“What if we came from here and here?” Troy asked pointing at the map.

“No, they’d see it coming. Cops try that shit all the time and it never works.” Dex said, and I grabbed Johnny’s laptop before returning to the couch. 

I handed it to him to unlock as Troy said “Shit, you’re right. Well, what should we do then?” He handed me back the laptop and I quickly pulled up the building they were talking about and the underground tunnel system, and waited for a break in conversation.

“Like I was sayin’ earlier, we’re not gonna raid the factory quite yet.” Dex said.

“Why not?” Troy and I asked. 

“’Cause I’m not a gun toting psychopath named Johnny Gat.” Dex said exasperated.

“Hey! I resent that!” Johnny piped in, but Dex just waved him off.

“So what is the plan?” I asked taking another sip of my coffee. 

“One of my boys called and said they saw a truck with heavy LC escort leavin’ the factory District. It’s probably loaded with drugs, but that’s just a bonus, our target is the truck itself. I need it brought back to the Row in one piece; it’s no good to us blow to shit.” Dex said.

“Excuse me for a minute, but instead of trying the Trojan horse thing, why don’t we just use the UTS?” I asked, and all three men raised their eyebrow at me. 

“Explain.” Dex said folding his arms across his chest. 

“You mind?” I asked gesturing to the map and highlighter on the table. 

“Have at it.” Dex said, and I quickly sketched a map of the UTS.

“Ok, this is actually really simple to explain, back when Stilwater was first built there were very strict rules about going outside after 8pm so the people of Stilwater developed the UTS which allowed them to move from place to place and not get caught. Any building in Stilwater that is older that the 1970s is connected including this apartment building, the church, and even your factory.” I said pointing to each building on the map before turning the computer to face them. “These are the blueprints of the factory which shows that the UTS lets out into a small room in the basement. If we come in from there they’ll never expect it because they’ll be guarding from outside attacks not inside.” I said with a small smile. Dex didn’t look completely sold, so I grabbed Troy’s hand and pulled him toward the door. “Think about it, me and Troy will go get that truck.” I said and left before Johnny could protest. 

“How did you know about the tunnel system?” Troy asked as I got in the passenger seat of an old beater. 

“Being in the home I was in, I found ways to stay out of it. Most of that time was spent in the library. One day I took the dumb waiter down to the lower levels, and found a bunch of restricted books, one of these was on the UTS.” I said with a shrug.

We drove in silence for a few moments before Troy spoke up again. “You know, if you ever want to talk about what happened you can always talk to me.” He said glancing over at me. 

I looked over at Troy studying him for a moment before I responded. “Thanks, but I think I’ll stick with Johnny. No offence to you or anything, but Dex is right, you think like a cop. What’s to say if I talk to you that you won’t go back and share it with someone else?” I asked stepping out of the car as Troy parked. I pulled my Vice 9s before heading in the direction of the truck with Troy right behind me. 

“You don’t want to talk to me, that’s on you. I’ll hotwire the truck, you keep these bastards off me.” Troy said before he started shooting at the Carnales. It didn’t take long for us to clear the parking lot, but one of the Carnales must have called for backup because a few minutes later more started pulling in. 

“Please tell me you got that shit almost done.” I called to Troy before firing at the new batch of Carnales. I no more than knocked that batch down before another showed up and this one decided he was supposed to try to run me over causing me to dive out of the way. “Got damn it Troy, hurry up.” I yelled after getting back to my feet. 

“Sorry, I’m not very fucking good at this.” Troy snapped. 

“Then get some fucking directions.” I said quickly dialing Johnny’s number. I put the phone on speakerphone and sat it on the foot well of the truck as more Carnales showed up. “Fuuuuck!” I drawled out before I started firing again. 

“Hello? What the fuck is going on?” I heard Johnny call through the phone. 

“Troy has no idea what the fuck he’s doing. Give him a run down on how to hotwire the fucking truck before the entirety of the Carnales are here.” I called shooting a few more. It was a few minutes after that when the truck finally roared to life, and I wanted to celebrate, but I knew it was way too soon. We still had to make it back to the Row and I only had five clips left including what I had picked up off the bodies. “About fucking time.” I shouted as I jumped up into the passenger seat of the truck and heard Johnny chuckle. “Thanks for the help Johnny, talk to you when we get there.” I said before hanging up my phone. 

“You didn’t have to call Johnny. I had it under control.” Troy said looking over at me.

“I kinda did. I have very little ammo left, and we still need to make it back to the row in one piece.” I snapped as a red car pulled out in front of us. I stuck my arm out the window and quickly shot the Driver of the car as we passed leaving the passenger stranded until he decided to pull the body out of the car. Lucky for us it didn’t look like he was in any hurry to do so.

“Nice shot, you know just between you and me I was fine with cleanin’ out the Row, but getting into this drug shit ain’t cool. Someone should talk some sense into Julius.” Troy said and I looked at him in disbelief.

“You’re in a fucking gang and you don’t want to push drugs. You got any idea what’s going to happen if you knock out the Carnales and don’t replenish the supply. You’ll have people dying everywhere as they try to make their own drugs, and that’s if someone else doesn’t move in with something even harder and more addicting to try and fill the vacuum.” I said before shooting out the front tire of a car that was following us causing it to flip into the river.

“Look, I don’t know how much they told you about the L- The Carnales, but I know Lopez. Once we steal from him he ain’t gonna back off until we’re dead, or he is.” Troy said just barely stopping himself from saying The Los Carnales. 

“I hope he has his will made out then.” I said with a vicious smile using the last of my ammo to kill the roadblock between us and the bridge into Saints territory. “Hopefully we’re home free from here, because that was the last of my ammo.” I said dropping down into my seat for the rest of the ride. When I saw another car start coming up behind us I started pulling off Johnny’s button up.

“The fuck are you doing?” Troy asked glancing over at me in alarm.

“Getting us some fucking help.” I said making sure I had a good grip on the shirt before sticking my hand and head out the window to let out a sharp whistle. Troy looked behind us in awe as he watched Saints start running out of their apartments, guns drawn to take down the cars following us. 

A moment later we heard a voice come over the CB as I changed the station. “Got Saints in a Semi Truck heading in the direction of the church on main street, The Carnales are on their tail, take them bitches down.” We heard a few people answer back in the affirmative and saw the street start to line with Saints as we headed for the garage. 

“That’s for the backup guys, we’re on our way to Samson’s If you can make sure the way is clean that’d be great. Ran out of ammo just before the bridge.” I called over and a few minutes later Troy had an escort of Saints.

“How in the fuck did you do that?” Troy asked looking over at me with a mixture of fear and awe. 

I gave a shrug. “After that shit with Jared came out, a few of the girls came to talk to me. After talking to them I realized that it would be a good idea to know the people that I’m working with. Went around on my spare time and got to know the majority of the crew, and they told me about the station. Said it used to be an old trucker station or something, but the trucks stopped using the CBs when they started getting robbed because of ‘em.”

“Ok, I get all that, but how did they know we needed help.” Troy asked as we pulled up to Samson’s garage.

“What the hell’d you think the whistle was for?” I asked before hopping out of the truck. “I’m heading back to Johnny’s to see if I can get a couple more hours of sleep.” I said waving troy off. As he walked away to wherever he was going I walked around to the back of the truck, and opened one of the doors. I looked around over more time before stepping in. I grabbed a small thing of weed and a couple other things and shoved ‘em in my purse before hopping back off the truck, and locking it back up. 

I walked around the front of the shop, and knocked on the door knowing Samson normally sleeps in his shop. “Hey girl, anything I can help you with?” he drawled looking like he had been up for a couple hours, or just hadn’t gone to bed yet.”

“Think I can use your underground. I’m sorely out of ammo, and don’t feel like walking topside without it.” I said and he waved me in.

“Sure thing girl. You know where it is.” He said going back to work on one of the cars in the garage.

“Thanks man.” I said with a wave, before carefully pulling a flashlight out of my bag, and opening the door to his supply closet. I looked around until I found the small handle, and pulled it up revealing the black space beneath the city, and dropped down. I looked around for a minute to make sure no one was around before closing the hatch. Even though the UTS was widely forgotten every now and then a homeless person would find their way down here. 

I rested my hand on the hilt of my blade before making my way quickly back to Johnny’s. I was just opening the door of the supply closet when Troy walked in the front door, and I was met with the barrel of his gun in my face. “Seriously Troy? You could have just told me you were coming back here.” I said shoving the gun out of my face before I started to limp my way up the stairs, my wounds aggravated by all of the walking I had been doing. A moment later I was picked up and carried up the steps. “Johnny, we need to get an elevator.” I called as Troy carried me into the apartment.

“I’ll get right on that with all my fucking millions.” Johnny said with a smirk on his face until he saw the blood seeping through the bandage on my leg. “Damn it, Red. I thought I told you no missions where you had to walk a lot until after your leg was healed.” He bitched as Troy dropped me onto the couch. 

“Ow fuck Troy, careful with the merchandise.” I said as one of the spots I had been punched by a stupid Carnales member started to throb. 

“You know where Dex got off to?” Troy asked Johnny as he started unwrapping my leg. 

“Church I think. He left right before you called. Why the fuck did you go to steal a truck if you didn’t know how to hotwire the damn thing.” Johnny asked.

“Thought it was like riding a bike, you know, learn it once remember it for life.”

“Once!” I shouted. “You risk my fucking life for once.” 

“Don’t sound so pissed.” Troy said waving me off. 

“Don’t sound so pissed?” I asked trying to get to my feet only to have Johnny push me back down. “If I had had one less bullet, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. Why the fuck you think I took the tunnels home? I don’t care how quick of a response I can get out of the guys. There is no way I’m walking home at any time armed with only a fucking knife.” 

“That’s your problem. Should have bought more ammo.” Troy said with a shrug. 

“In case you didn’t notice it was three in the fucking morning when you decided to go do this fucking job, after sneaking into my bedroom while I was asleep. If I had had a bit more warning I could have bought some fucking ammo before going home last night, but no. You wait until every friendly fire in Stilwater is closed and then tell me I should have brought more ammo.” I said before finally managing to push myself off the couch and walked over to get right in Troy’s face. “And now you have the nerve to tell me that’s my problem? How about I make it your problem?” I said before punching him in the face, and then stalking into the bathroom where I locked the door. Once in the bathroom I searched around in my bag until I found some LSD tablets, and I placed one under my tongue. By the time Johnny knocked on the door I was in a much better mood. 

“Everything ok?” Johnny asked when I opened the door.

“Yeah, sorry about that. Lack of sleep tends to make me a bit violent. Well lack of sleep and assholes, and he’s been a pretty big asshole all night.” I said with a sigh, and let Johnny in. I slid up on the counter so he could reach my leg better, and then let him carry me back to bed.


End file.
